With the September 1st retirement of longtime Chief Deputy Clerk Chris Vasil, the U.S. Supreme Court has restructured its senior staff.
The position occupied by Mr. Vasil since 2002 has been abolished, and in its stead, four Deputy Clerks will continue to assist Supreme Court filers in the following capacities:
Practice and Procedure: Jordan “Danny” Bickell, formally the Court’s Emergency Applications Clerk, has been appointed Deputy Clerk for Practice and Procedure. He will carry out some of Mr. Vasil’s previous duties, including “the preparation of weekly conference lists, taking action on extensions of time to respond to petitions for writs of certiorari, and service as the primary point of contact for members of the Court’s bar with respect to questions of practice and procedure,” according to the Court’s announcement, available here.
Mr. Bickell will continue to perform the duties of the Emergency Applications Clerk until the Court fills the temporary vacancy. The New York Times profiled Mr. Bickell, here.
Case Management: Cynthia Rapp will continue to serve as Deputy Clerk for Case Management. She is an invaluable resource for original action proceedings.
Administration: Gary Kemp will continue to serve as Deputy Clerk for Administration. He is responsible for many of the Court’s administrative functions.
Case Initiation: Jeff Atkins, formerly the Supervisor of New Cases, will now serve as Deputy Clerk for Case Initiation – though many of his job functions remain the same. Mr. Atkins will supervise the seven case analysts who review and process new case filings.