What happens if a judge passes before your clerkship? Forum

[dctenant8181]

Any insight on what happens if a judge passes before your clerkship starts? My judge is pretty senior and even though I start in a few months, I’m concerned that if they tragically pass, I may be SOL. Anyone experience this or have insight into what someone should do/has done in this situation?

[Anonymous User]

This happened to a friend who was just SOL. No clerkship. (But the clerkship was over a year away at time of passing.)

If the judge dies right as you’re about to start you might have the opportunity to work for another judge(s) but I have only heard of this at circuit level

[Anonymous User]

I know of a clerk who this happened to on a prominent district court. The Chief Judge had the list of which incoming clerks were hired and reassigned them to other judges to work for their hired terms. I would not worry about it.

[Anonymous User]

This happened to a friend who was just SOL. No clerkship.

If the judge dies right as you’re about to start you might have the opportunity to work for another judge(s) but I have only heard of this at circuit level

I guess no one should try to clerk for Judge Copenhaver in West Virginia (99 years old) any time soon.

[Anonymous User]

This happened to a friend who was just SOL. No clerkship.

If the judge dies right as you’re about to start you might have the opportunity to work for another judge(s) but I have only heard of this at circuit level

I guess no one should try to clerk for Judge Copenhaver in West Virginia (99 years old) any time soon.

Very elderly judges often have career clerks, or hire shortly before the start of the term, for this exact reason. But not always.

[Anonymous User]

My understanding is that the rule depends on whether the judiciary appropriation bill has been passed that year or not, because clerkship funding is included in that package. The judiciary appropriations bill was signed in March of last year, so as a general rule, your clerkship is safe if you need reassignment within ~5-6 months of the start date of your clerkship (assuming a fall start date).

I have also heard of some circuits/districts passing around resumes of clerks who need reassignment.