Are citations needed for cases mentioned in a cover letter? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Suppose a clerkship applicant likes a certain opinion by the receiving judge and would like to mention the case in the cover letter. Should the applicant provide a citation after mentioning the case in the cover letter?

Example: "My view on [a topic] accords with Schmoe v. Schmuck, 123 F.4th 56 (7th Cir. 2021), where you..."

[Anonymous User]

do not cite cases in your cover letter

[Anonymous User]

do not cite cases in your cover letter

This. A clerkship cover letter should generally be very short. A judge’s cases are good to be prepped on for interviews though.

[Yeti]

I could not see a judge's chambers rejecting your application just because you showed an interest in a particular opinion by the judge. It is definitely not the norm (I never saw that happen when I reviewed clerkship applications as a law clerk) but I don't see much downside risk in doing so – so long as you're not just fawning.

If you do decide to mention a case, I don't think it's necessary to include a citation. The clerks (who are likely the first to review your application) should be able to find the case easily without the citation. You may not even need to provide a case name, so long as the context is clear and the judge knows what opinion you're referring to.

[nixy]

I could not see a judge's chambers rejecting your application just because you showed an interest in a particular opinion by the judge. It is definitely not the norm (I never saw that happen when I reviewed clerkship applications as a law clerk) but I don't see much downside risk in doing so – so long as you're not just fawning.

I have a hard time imagining how you'd do this without looking fawning, though. Maybe if it's a well-known case, but otherwise I think it looks like they searched for a case they could talk about.

[Anonymous User]

Have not yet started my clerkship, and will of course follow my judge's wishes re: the hiring process. However, I have a hard time imagining it matters much whether your "view on [a topic] accords with" one of the judge's opinions. It reflects a misapprehension that opinions are a direct articulation of the judge's views, rather than a product of those views, the chamber's work process, the circuit's precedent, and the makeup of the panel. And to me it reads as a light red flag: what will you do with the cases you'll work on where your views don't align with the judge's?

[Yeti]

On second thought – after reading Nixy’s comment and the last anonymous comment, and re-reading your proposed example – I would advise against it.

Save your knowledge of the judge’s opinions for the interview, when you’ll probably be asked some variation of “Why this particular judge?”

It just looks contrived in a cover letter.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thank you all for answering! I appreciate it.

[Anonymous User]

Just to add on here, I had a district court judge specifically mention in his interview that applicants often apply to him for the "wrong" reasons, because they read specific, more high-profile decisions of his and incorrectly assumed he had a certain political ideology or leaning.

[Anonymous User]

Suppose a clerkship applicant likes a certain opinion by the receiving judge and would like to mention the case in the cover letter. Should the applicant provide a citation after mentioning the case in the cover letter?

Example: "My view on [a topic] accords with Schmoe v. Schmuck, 123 F.4th 56 (7th Cir. 2021), where you..."

You should not do this, unless you are an absolute long shot for the clerkship. In that case, I support doing weird things within reason because you need to get noticed somehow. Yes, most judges will either not care at all about something like this or will be annoyed by it. But maybe one out of 50 might like it.