The Court today announced that Kathleen L. Arberg, Public Information Officer of the Supreme Court of the United States, will retire on July 3 after serving 22 years as Public Information Officer and a total 40 years in the federal judiciary, 38 years spent at the Supreme Court.

Ms. Arberg joined the Court in 1982 and served as an assistant PIO for 17 years before becoming the Public Information Officer in 1999. Ms. Arberg is the fifth person to serve as Public Information Officer since the position was established in 1935. As the Court’s Public Information Officer, she has acted as the Court’s official spokesperson and managed a staff of six employees who assist in furthering the public’s understanding of the history and function of the Court and facilitate coverage of the Court by the media. The office issues the opinions and orders of the Court, credentials more than 1,000 reporters each Term, and operates a working pressroom provided for the use of a resident press corps and visiting journalists. The Public Information Office is open to the general public and provides assistance to the Court’s many visitors, as well as members of the public who contact the Court. 

Chief Justice Roberts congratulated Ms. Arberg on her many accomplishments, stating, “Kathy has provided nearly four decades of invaluable service to the Court and members of the press.  Although we all wish her well in retirement, we will miss her presence immensely.”

Before coming to the Court, Ms. Arberg worked in research and case management positions in the judicial branch. She served as the motions clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia; a paralegal at the U.S. Tax Court; and the adversary proceedings case manager at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Washington, D.C. She is a longstanding member and past-president of the National Conference of Court Public Information Officers and a member of the Virginia Bar Association Committee on Special Issues of National and State Importance.

Ms. Arberg earned her B.A. at the University of Virginia in 1977.