Is US Citizenship Required for STATE Clerkship? Forum

[BrokenMouse]

lol

[pupshaw]

Just FYI, citizenship is not required for federal clerkships in Alaska, Hawaii, or territories like Puerto Rico.

[exitoptions]

.

[exitoptions]

My clerkship director at my law school is worthless. Anyone know this? I know it is required for federal clerkships but what about state (California)?

I imagine citizenship requirements might vary by state. I know New Jersey does not require U.S. citizenship for state clerkships (they also do not require you to be a state resident). Just check with the state judiciary (the info is probably on their website).

[BearState]

Just a reminder, outside of Los Angeles and Justice Liu of the Supreme Court, California judges do not hire law clerks.

[pupshaw]

Just a reminder, outside of Los Angeles and Justice Liu of the Supreme Court, California judges do not hire law clerks.

Justice Cuellar is going to as well, and I imagine that Justice Kruger will too.

[BearState]

Just a reminder, outside of Los Angeles and Justice Liu of the Supreme Court, California judges do not hire law clerks.

Justice Cuellar is going to as well, and I imagine that Justice Kruger will too.

great catch, thanks. I know Liu basically requires a federal COA clerkship; unsure if Cuellar and Kruger will follow suit.

[Anonymous User]

Strictly speaking, citizenship is not required for a federal clerkship. In some circumstances, green card holders can clerk on the federal courts.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Strictly speaking, citizenship is not required for a federal clerkship. In some circumstances, green card holders can clerk on the federal courts.

Yup, if they're seeking citizenship:

To comply with requirement No. 4 above, an individual must be a lawful permanent resident (have a green card) and apply for citizenship within a short time of first becoming eligible to do so. An individual is not eligible to apply for citizenship until he or she has been a permanent resident for at least five years (three years if seeking naturalization as a spouse of a citizen). When that occurs, he or she must apply for citizenship within six months of becoming eligible and must complete the process within two years of applying (unless there is a delay caused by the processors of the application). NOTE: A lawful permanent resident who is not yet eligible to apply for citizenship at the start of judicial employment may lawfully be employed by the judiciary, provided that he or she submits an affidavit indicating the intent to apply for citizenship when eligible to do so. A sample form of this affidavit has been provided to the courts.

[Anonymous User]

Technically, if you are not a citizen, you can

(1) do clerkships in Alaska, Puerto Rico and Hawaii.

(2) do voluntary (i.e. not paid) clerkship with any federal judge who is willing to take you. I know at least two recent HYS non-citizen graduates doing this, and they get the same calibre of work as the other clerks. But I guess this would involve quite a bit of networking, etc.

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I have no idea what the answer is but I certainly wouldn't try it in a red state. It's probably a crime just to apply in Texas.