In person: In an interview, social event, or in court, address a judge as “Your Honor” or “Judge [last name].” If you are more familiar with the judge, you may call her just “Judge.” In any context, avoid “Sir” or “Ma'am.”
Judges of lower courts are addressed as The Honorable (full name), but current justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are not. However a retired associate justice is addressed as the Honorable (full name) and in a salutation or conversation as Justice (surname).
For almost all judges, write "Dear Judge" followed by the judge's last name to begin the letter. Write this on its own line, followed by a comma. Address justices of the UK Supreme Court as "Dear (Lord/Lady) (surname)" instead. If writing to a U.S. state or federal Supreme Court, use "Dear Justice" instead.
White quills are placed on counsel tables each day that the Court sits, as was done at the earliest sessions of the Court. The "Judicial Handshake" has been a tradition since the days of Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller in the late 19th century.
Call them 'Sir' or 'Madam' in court, or 'Your Worship'.
In the past, any person of royal or notable lineage or position was often referred to as "your honor," to denote that the individual was special and should be given higher regard. It was used for wealthy landowners, knights, judges, and more.
Contact UsU.S. Mail: Supreme Court of the United States. 1 First Street, NE. Washington, DC 20543.Telephone: 202-479-3000. TTY: 202-479-3472. (Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)Contact the Public Information Office by U.S. Mail: Public Information Officer. Supreme Court of the United States. 1 First Street, NE.
When you're actually clerking or externing, you would write "Dear Judge [Last Name]" or just "Dear Judge." I have never written a letter to my judge directed to "Your Honor," or referred to him in any other context using that title.
Start with the envelope, writing to the judge in this format:Honorable Judge First Name Last Name.Judge of Name of the Court.Mailing Address.
Judges throughout the English-speaking world have worn robes for more than 700 years. It was a custom that began when law was still one of only a few learned professions like medicine, teaching, and preaching. New college graduates still wear robe-like gowns to signify their mastery of a body of knowledge.
The Term is divided between "sittings," when the Justices hear cases and deliver opinions, and intervening "recesses," when they consider the business before the Court and write opinions.
There are no rules that dictate what judges or justices must wear on the bench, nor is there even a common source for Supreme Court robes. The court's internal correspondence suggests that, in the 19th century, the justices all wore black silk robes from a single tailor.