Do Judges Care If Lawyers Say “May It Please The Court”?

It has long been tradition to begin oral arguments with some variation of the phrase, “May it please the Court.” But Bryan A. Garner, editor-in-chief of Black’s Law Dictionary, recently asked active judges whether they felt the phrase was an outdated formalism or a welcome sign of professionalism. The general consensus was summed up by Ninth Circuit judge Susan Graber: “Its absence is always more notable than its presence, so I prefer lawyers saying May it please the Court.” Though the phrase is “totally pointless,” it’s also “largely harmless, so it’s a good way to get started,” added Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski. Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago noted, “It may help some lawyers get started; icebreakers have their place.” And, said Judge Jon O. Newman of the Second Circuit in New York City, “sometimes it’s the only thing a lawyer says that doesn’t get immediately challenged.” However, Easterbrook noted that, “When it appears in a brief or motion, which is often, it is a waste of space.” Garner also considers how the current accepted introduction to oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court (“Mr. Chief Justice, and May it please the Court”) will be amended when a woman ascends to that leadership role on the Court.