Supreme Court Attorney, Habeas Unit, Level A - C

The Supreme Court of California, located in San Francisco, is accepting applications for the position of Supreme Court Attorney on the Habeas Corpus Unit of the Criminal Central Staff. The position may be filled as a one-year clerkship, with the possibility of renewal for a second year, or may be filled at a more senior level, depending on the applicant's qualifications. The position is available from June 2025 to June 2026.

THE SUPREME COURT

The California Supreme Court is the state’s highest court. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts. The court conducts regular sessions in San Francisco, as well as in Los Angeles and Sacramento; it may also hold special sessions elsewhere.

The state Constitution gives the Supreme Court the authority to review decisions of the Courts of Appeal. This reviewing power enables the Supreme Court to decide important legal questions and to maintain uniformity in the law. The court selects specific issues for review, or it may decide all the issues in a case. The Supreme Court also has original jurisdiction in proceedings for extraordinary relief in the form of mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, and habeas corpus, and the Constitution gives the high court a specified role in the review of cases in which a trial court has pronounced a judgment of death.

The Supreme Court of California offers a hybrid work schedule with a minimum of two days per week in the office, depending on work assignments.

Duties

The main role of the Criminal Central Staff is in the case selection process, preparing memoranda on petitions for review in criminal cases, including habeas corpus proceedings, that evaluate the merits of the issues presented, analyze the law, and offer recommendations to the court for the proper disposition of requests for discretionary review. With respect to original habeas corpus petitions, attorneys in the Habeas Corpus Unit preliminarily assess the petitions in non-capital cases to determine whether there are any procedural bars to relief, evaluate the petitions for possible merit, and when appropriate, solicit an informal response pursuant to the California Rules of Court. In preparing memoranda on petitions for writ of habeas corpus, the Habeas Corpus Unit staff will, if called for, make a recommendation on whether to issue an order to show cause in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, or the Superior Court. In preparing memoranda on petitions for writ of habeas corpus, the Habeas Corpus Unit staff will, if called for, make a recommendation on whether to issue an order to show cause in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, or the Superior Court.

Staff attorneys also perform other tasks as determined by the court. The attorney must be able to work closely and cooperatively with other members of the central staff, as well as other members of the court’s staff, and should anticipate having his or her work product subject to extensive review and editing by the staff director and other senior staff attorneys.

Salary

• Graduate Legal Assistant Salary: $5,334 to $5,883 per month6,875 per month
  Level B Supreme Court Attorney Salary: $8,319 to $10,572 per month
  Level C Supreme Court Attorney Salary: $9,148 to $11,625 per month

Qualifications

Graduate Legal Assistant

Third year law school students and recent law school graduates are invited to apply. If selected for employment, a candidate who is not a member of the Bar will generally be hired into a Graduate Legal Assistant classification pending admission.

Level A: Active membership in the State Bar of California.

Level B: Active membership in the State Bar of California and the equivalent of two years of post-bar legal experience in a legal setting such as a private law practice, corporation, government agency, law school, court, or legal publishing company. OR The equivalent of two years of post-bar legal experience in a legal setting as described above, including one year of experience as an appellate attorney, Level A, with the judicial branch.

Level C: Active membership in the State Bar of California and the equivalent of three years of post-bar legal experience in a legal setting such as a private law practice, corporation, government agency, law school, court, or legal publishing company. OR One year of experience as an appellate court attorney, Level B, with the judicial branch.

NOTE: Work experience as a law clerk to a federal judge after passing a state bar but prior to formal state bar admission will be considered equivalent to post-bar legal experience.

Desirable Qualifications:

Additional experience in excess of the minimum qualifications in the practice of law, in particular, experience as a judicial staff attorney or judicial extern, as an appellate practitioner, or in a comparable position emphasizing legal writing and analysis, and experience in exercising adjudicatory (as opposed to advocacy) skills.

Other Information

The Supreme Court of California will require verification of employment eligibility or authorization to legally work in the United States.

How to Apply

To ensure consideration of your application for the earliest round of interviews, please apply by April 6, 2025; however, the position will remain open until filled. Only candidates selected for an interview will be notified.  

This position requires the submission of our official application, a cover letter, a resume, a response to the supplemental questionnaire below, and a writing sample.  

To complete an online application, please click the Apply for Job button.

The Judicial Council provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities who request such accommodation. Reasonable accommodation needs should be requested through Human Resources at (415) 865-4260. 

Supplemental Questions

In order to better assess the qualifications of each applicant, we ask that you respond to the following questions.

1. Extensive independent research, analysis and writing on complex criminal legal issues are required in this position. Please describe your relevant experience in performing comparable work, why you believe your experience and skills qualify you, and why you are interested in the position.

2. Please provide your date of admission to the State Bar of California, and your law school cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA): 

Note: A certified copy of the law school transcript will be required for candidates selected for an interview.

3. Provide your final grades in the following courses or the equivalent course at your law school. If you have not taken a given course, answer N/A:
Legal Writing & Research: __________
Criminal Law: __________
Criminal Procedure: __________
Evidence: __________
Constitutional Law: __________

Please list any other relevant courses you have taken and provide the grade you received.

Benefits

Some highlights of our benefits package include:

• Health/Dental/Vision benefits programs
• 14 paid holidays per calendar year
• Choice of Annual Leave or Sick/Vacation Leave
• 1 personal holiday per year
• Up to $130 per month reimbursement for qualifying commuter costs
• CalPERS Retirement Plan
• 401(k) and 457 deferred compensation plans
• Employee Assistance Program
• Basic Life and AD&D Insurance
• FlexElect Program for medical and child care expenses

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Supreme Court of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer.