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I am asking for a friend who is an international JD student who has a stellar academic record.

If an applicant is in the process of adjusting his status (marrying a US citizen husband) and will take approximately 6 months, can the applicant apply now for a clerkship starting at some point after that? She would have her papers ready before her starting date. I am not sure how long the background and employment eligibility verification takes, but Will judges be okay with that?

I only have personal experience, but I'm going to go ahead and say that it is probably entirely judge-dependent.

I had the same concerns when I applied for a clerkship - though I was applying 2 years ahead of my start date. The judge I will be clerking for told me that he was fine with my not meeting the residency requirement at the time of the interview, as long as I would meet it at the time of starting my clerkship. However, that was after I explained to him what the requirements were, because he was only vaguely aware of them. It is possible that some judges don't even bother / don't know, and will simply refuse to consider applicants that are not already legal permanent residents/citizens.

BTW it's worth noting that if your friend marries a US citizen and becomes a LPR, she will have to sign a document certifying that she is seeking to obtain citizenship and will apply for it as soon as allowable (i.e. she doesn't plan to be on a green card forever. Usually spouses of US citizens can apply for citizenship after 1.5 years as LPRs, so she'd have to apply then). Wasn't a problem for me, but I know plenty of green card holders who don't want to become citizens.