28 U.S.C. § 454
Section 454 · Practice of law by justices and judges
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 37 court decisions — leading case Whitmore v. Arkansas (1990)
Most recently applied in In re: Omar Khadr (May 2016)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Any justice or judge appointed under the authority of the United States who engages in the practice of law is guilty of a high misdemeanor.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §373 (Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, §258, 36 Stat. 1161).
Changes in phraseology were made.
Rules of the Supreme Court
Clerks to justices not to practice, see rule 7, Appendix to this title.