Vincentian-born attorney sworn into US Supreme Court Bar before all nine justices
Karlene J. Rogers-Aberman, who migrated from Arnos Vale to Brooklyn at the age of 10, was admitted on June 18 through a Georgetown Law programme.
WASHINGTON, United States. Vincentian-born attorney Karlene J. Rogers-Aberman says she had the “special honour” of being sworn in as a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States before all nine justices on June 18.
“Through a special programme offered by Georgetown Law, I had the opportunity not only to be admitted to the Supreme Court, but to be sworn in as a member of that Bar before the entire panel of nine Supreme Court Justices,” she told Caribbean Life on Monday, July 6.
She said admission certificates are typically mailed to qualifying applicants, and that there is usually a long waiting list to appear before the full bench. “The experience was even better than I hoped,” she said.
Rogers-Aberman was one of 47 Georgetown University Law Center graduates admitted. At a breakfast beforehand, Chief Justice John Roberts visited the group to offer insights on past justices and the court’s workings.
“I could not help smiling at Ketanji Brown Jackson, the newest and first Black female justice sitting on the bench,” she said. “Now that I am a member of the SCOTUS Bar, I hope to have the opportunity to argue a significant case before the US Supreme Court one day.”
From Arnos Vale to Los Angeles
Rogers-Aberman migrated in 1982, at the age of 10, from Arnos Vale, a few miles outside Kingstown, to join her mother, Almira Rogers Cooper, in Brooklyn. She attended P.S. 139 and Ditmas Junior High School.
She graduated from Cornell University with a degree in American Studies, holding leadership roles in the Caribbean Students Association, and earned her law degree from Georgetown in 1997.
After working at firms in Connecticut and on Wall Street, she moved to Los Angeles in 2005. She is now a senior partner at Stephenson, Acquisto & Colman in Glendale, specialising in healthcare litigation for hospitals. She noted that Black partners make up less than 3 per cent of law firm partners in the US.
A mother’s pride
“All gratitude goes to my mom, who had the foresight to bring me and my brothers to the US,” she said.
Her mother, who is originally from South Rivers in North Central Windward, said she was “extremely proud” of her daughter. “Jubilation and thanks to the God I serve,” she said. “Look how far we have come!”
