WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- The nine members of the U.S. Supreme Court announced their clerks for the upcoming term Monday, a clear signal no justice plans to soon retire.
None of the justices was expected to step down in an election year because of the partisan infighting and political uncertainty such an action would cause, although retirement speculation has swirled around Chief Justice William Rehnquist in recent years.
As usual, Rehnquist took three clerks in chambers for the upcoming term, while each of the eight associate justices took four.
Clerking for a justice is considered a major step in a lawyer's career, and many go on to become judges and law professors. All are drawn from law school graduates who first clerked for judges on U.S. circuit courts of appeal.
Harvard Law School graduates led this year's clerk corps with nine, followed by University of Chicago Law School graduates with seven.
