US Supreme Court Bar Admissions Program

For many years, the JD Lawyers Conference has sponsored a Supreme Court Bar Admissions Program., hosting a small group of 12 Judicial Division members in Washington, D.C. for an extraordinary visit.  

The JD’s 2020 Admissions Program has been postponed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.  We are hoping to bring our Admissions Program back in the Supreme Court’s 2021 Term

Please contact julianna.peacock@americanbar.org to be one of the first informed when the date is selected for the next Admissions Program.  

2019 Program Highlights 

• Admission on the First Monday in October, the first day of the new term
• Coffee & Case Preview with Daryl Joseffer, Chief Counsel for Appellate Litigation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Litigation Center
• Swearing-In Ceremony, with admission motioned for by Judicial Division Chair, Justice Elizabeth Lang-Miers (Ret.) 
• Reserved seats at oral arguments for Kahler v. Kansas
  and Peter v. NantKwest Inc.
• Lunch at the Supreme Court, including presentation by Ronald K. L. Collins on Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and the Civil War:  How Duty Shaped His Destiny
  
• Private lecture and tour of the Courtroom
• A visit from Justice Kavanaugh to greet the admissions group
  
• Group dinner the evening before the Ceremony, with Judicial Division and Lawyers Conference leadership

Admission Criteria

To be admitted to the Supreme Court Bar, you must:

1. have been admitted to practice to the highest court of a State, Territory or the District of Columbia for at least three years prior to the date of the application; 
   
2. not have received any adverse disciplinary action or pronouncement in effect during that three year period; 
   
3. be of good moral and professional character.

Rates for the 2021 program are not finalized yet., but will include the $200 admission fee for the Supreme Court, which will be sent on your behalf to the Court.

Rates for the 2019 program were as follows:
        $350  | Judicial Division members
        $400 | ABA members
        $450  | non-ABA members

Application Instructions

1. Register to reserve your spot in the group.  You must be able to be in D.C. on the date of the Ceremony.  Until the 2020 dates are finalized, you may email julianna.peacock@americanbar.org to be notified when dates are selected and applications are open.
2. Fill out the Bar Admission Application found at  www.supremecourt.gov/bar/barapplication.pdf.  Please make sure both sponsor signatures are original on the same page.  Please do not fill out the final section on page 2, written motion for admission, as you will be admitted on verbal motion in an open court.
   
3. Obtain a Certificate of Good Standing from the presiding judge, clerk, or other authorized official of the highest court of a State, Commonwealth, Territory or Possession, or of the District of Columbia, evidencing the fact that you have been a member of the Bar of such court for at least three years and are in good standing.  
4. Mail the application and certificate to Julie Peacock, who will forward it to the Court on your behalf with the group's compiled applications.

Staff Contact Information   

Julie Peacock
312.988.6093
julianna.peacock@americanbar.org
321 N. Clark St., Floor 18, Chicago, IL 60654