Atlanta Attorney Gerald Griggs Admitted to U.S. Supreme Court Bar

Civil rights lawyer Gerald Griggs was recently sworn in to practice before the nation's highest court.

Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in African-American

Wide photograph of a limestone and red-brick civic courthouse facade under overcast daylight, with a single flagpole and green trees in downtown Atlanta. — Atlanta civil rights attorney Gerald Griggs was sworn in to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, a rare admission among roughly 300 active U.S. practitioners. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Atlanta civil rights attorney Gerald Griggs was recently sworn in to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. The swearing-in ceremony date has not been announced.

Why it matters

Only about 300 attorneys in the United States actively practice before the Supreme Court, making admission a notable professional milestone. Griggs, a former president of the Georgia NAACP, plans to focus on police brutality and voting rights cases.

Roughly 300 attorneys nationwide actively practice before the Supreme Court, and 19 of them are African American. Griggs joins a small group, though the exact metro Atlanta count is estimated at only two or three attorneys.

The players

Gerald Griggs

Gerald Griggs is an Atlanta civil rights attorney and former president of the Georgia NAACP, known for his advocacy in police brutality and voting rights matters.

NAACP

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is a civil rights organization founded in 1909 that works to eliminate racial discrimination through litigation and advocacy.

The details

Griggs was sworn in to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and gave an interview from the Nathan Deal Judicial Center in downtown Atlanta. He is the immediate past president of the Atlanta branch of the NAACP and previously led the Georgia NAACP.

Recently sworn in before the U.S. Supreme Court; exact date not announced.

Legal Context

Admission to the Supreme Court bar is a credential that has historically mattered most for civil rights litigators working through the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's model of test-case advocacy. Griggs's focus on police brutality and voting rights places him within that lineage.

Atlanta residents with civil rights or voting rights concerns may find a locally based advocate now able to argue those issues at the Supreme Court. The swearing-in date has not been announced, so timing for any new case remains open.

The takeaway

Growth in the number of Black attorneys practicing before the Supreme Court remains slow, and each new admission adds to the representation of civil rights perspectives in the highest court's bar.