In the world of attorneys there is not much that is more prestigious than joining the U.S. Supreme Court bar. Doing so means you can present cases before the Supreme Court, a chance very few attorneys actually have. It also means you are presented to the Supreme Court Justices which, as you can imagine, is also uncommon and special. For attorneys this is basically the chance of a lifetime.
Twelve military spouse attorneys, all members of the Military Spouse JD Network (MSJDN), had that honor today. And they were presented by none other than Patricia Millett, former military spouse and D.C. Circuit Court judge who is rumored to be on the short list for a possible U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
The timing of the swearing-in and the short-list rumors and vacancy caused by Justice Antonin Scalia's death are purely coincidental. The date for the group swearing in was set by the Court in January of last year, and the 12 spouses submitted their applications for the bar last October, MSJDN officials told me.
The chance to make a motion for a group of attorneys to be presented to the Bar on an argument day, like today, is really limited. So is the number of attorneys they can present. This is third group of MSJDN members that Millett has presented to the court over the last several years.
The maximum number of attorneys who can be sworn in on an argument day, such as today, is 12. Unlike other bars associated with individual states, attorneys sworn in the Supreme Court bar can be licensed anywhere. The entrance fee for inclusion is $200 -- far less than the fee for taking the bar examine and entering the bar in any state.
