California High Court Clerk Warns Against Faux Pas
The clerk of California’s Supreme Court has some advice for appellate lawyers: Don’t address justices by name because you will probably get it wrong.
Frederick Ohlrich, 67, has seen too many mistakes since he became the court’s clerk in 2000, the Los Angeles Times reports. One lawyer substituted the name of the former chief justice for the current one. Another called a justice by his first name, rather than his surname. When the court had only two female justices, male lawyers sometimes mixed up their names.
Now he preps lawyers before their argument begins. “You can’t get into any trouble by addressing the court as ‘Your honor,’ ” he advises the lawyers.
But names aren’t the only subject of confusion. Occasionally, lawyers show up at the wrong courthouse for oral arguments, apparently confused because the court holds sessions in more than one city, the story reports. “Try to explain that one to a client,” Ohlrich says.
