Exclusive Report: SCOTUS ClerksThis article is part of a series examining the professional pathways and diversity of Supreme Court law clerks.• A Look Inside the Elite World of Supreme Court Law Clerks

Since 2005, roughly 85 percent of U.S. Supreme Court law clerks have been white, according to new research conducted by The National Law Journal. The study shows that 20 of the 487 clerks hired by justices over the past 13 years were African-American, and nine were Hispanic. About 40 law clerks were Asian.

It's a less diverse pool than law firm associates, according to data from the National Association for Law Placement.

Note: The Supreme Court does not maintain or release any demographic data about clerks. Race and ethnicity was ascertained through personal queries and online research. The National Law Journal asked all nine justices to review the data, but all declined. Therefore, while this study provides a close snapshot of clerk demographics, it may have omitted or misidentified a small number of minority clerks. If you have information that would improve this study, please contact Tony Mauro at [email protected].

Use the bar chart below to explore hiring by the current justices.


The Diversity Picture
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