PROVO, Utah (AP) - A law professor at Brigham Young University is headed to the Supreme Court.
First-year faculty member Stephanie Barclay will clerk for Justice Neil Gorsuch during the 2021 term, the university announced on Wednesday.
“I feel so excited and humbled that Justice Gorsuch would give me this opportunity and so much gratitude to so many friends and colleagues who helped me along this path,” she said.
As a clerk, Barclay, 31, will help Gorsuch study and respond to cases the Supreme Court has been asked to hear. Each justice typically has four clerks, who can be fresh out of law school or more established in their career.
Each year, more than 1,000 attorneys apply for about 36 spots, according to the BYU release.
“In the beginning, there’s a lot of looking at cert petitions to help the justices decide which are the cases that the Supreme Court should take,” she said. “Clerks also help the justices prepare for oral arguments as cases are heard throughout the year.”
Barclay, who graduated from BYU Law in 2011, previously served as a clerk for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Barclay is listed as a contributor at The Federalist Society, a group of attorneys who have pushed to appoint more conservative judges. Her biography says she has drafted multiple Supreme Court briefs, including in defense of a Muslim inmate who wanted to wear a religious beard.
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