How to Address a Judge of a City, County or State Court

—-Envelope or address block on letter or email:
—-—-The Honorable
—-—-(Full Name)
—-—-(Name of Court)
—-—-(Address)
—-—-—-or How to Address a City County or State Judge
——-——-–—The Honorable (Full Name)
——-——-–—(Name of Court)
——-——-–—(Address)How to Address a City County or State Judge

—-Letter salutation:
—-—-Dear Judge (Surname):

—-Conversation:
—-—-Judge (surname)

—-Direct address in the courtroom:
—-—-Your Honor *

* His Honor, Her Honor & Your Honor
Your honor is an oral form of address used in conversation with a presiding official. Both a judge in his or her courtroom and the mayor in his or her city may be addressed as Your Honor. Neither a visiting judge in another judge’s courtroom nor a former mayor are addressed as Your Honor.

– Robert Hickey  How to Address a City County or State Judge

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

How to Address a Judge and Spouse?

How to I address a letter’s envelope to a judge and her husband?
——————– Sam O’Brien

I am writing a letter to a Judge and his wife. What is the proper salutation for the letter?
——————– Thanks, D.N.

Dear Sam & D.N.:
—-The formula for the envelope is

–——-The Honorable (Full Name)
–——-and Mrs. (Surname)
–——-(Address)

—-—-Which looks like
—-—-—-The Honorable Stephen Jennings
—-—-—-and Mr. Jennings
—-—-—-(Address)

–——-The Honorable (Full Name)
–——-and Ms/Dr.. (Full Name)
–——-(Address)

—-—-Which looks like
—-—-—-The Honorable Thomas Jennings
—-—-—-and Dr. Linda Nelson
—-—-—-(Address)

–——-The Honorable (Full Name)
–——-and Mr. (Full Name)
–——-(Address)

—-—-Which looks like
—-—-—-The Honorable Nancy Jennings
—-—-—-and Mr. Franklin Jennings
—-—-—-(Address)

—-The most formal salutation for a judge and spouse (if the spouse uses the same last name) would be:
——–Dear Judge Jennings and Mrs. Jennings
——–Dear Judge Jennings and Mr./Ms./Dr. Nelson
—-—-Dear Judge Jennings and Mr. Jennings:

—-In a salutation you always use the form of the name used in conversation.

Formally people who hold high offices get their full name as a unit … so Dear Judge and Mrs. Jennings – is informal.

Wives who use the same surname as their spouses traditionally lose their given name when addressed with their husband: They become simply Mrs. (Surname).   Thist is not a tradition everyone follows, but it is the traditional format. See the post on Mrs. & Ms. in the list of links at right for more on writing women’s names.

– Robert Hickey   How to Address a Judge of a Federal Court How to Address a City County or State Judge

Related Posts:
——–—Couples: Private Citizens
——–—Couples: Christian Clergy
——–—Couples: Rabbis
——–—Couples: Military
——–—Couples: U.S. Officials
——–—Couples: Same Sex

How to List a Judge in an Academic Environment?

If a law journal is publishing an article by a judge, should he be listed in the table of contents as ‘Honorable (first name, last name)‘, as ‘Judge (Name)’ or with JD?
———————– Jason Brand How to Address a City County or State Judge

Dear Mr. Brand,
Most of the time a judge is: ‘The Honorable (first name, last name)’.  Then after his name identify the office he holds: ‘Chief Judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals of New York‘  or whatever …

In an academic journal … if it is decided you will include his academic post-nominal abbreviations, don’t use the Honorable. ‘The Honorable’ is never used with post-nominals:

—-YES: The Honorable (First name. last name)
—-YES: (First name. last name), JD
—-NO: The Honorable (first name. last name), JD

I’ve seen elected members of the US Senate referred to in a law journal as (Name), JD. The journal then went on to identify his office held after his name. This is clear and makes sense in the context.

– Robert Hickey How to Address a City County or State Judge

Related Posts:
——-—Associate Justice of a State Supreme Court
——-—Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
——-—Chief Judge
——-—Chief Justice of a State Supreme Court
——-—Chief Justice of the United States
——-—Former or Retired Judge
——-—Judge of a Federal Court
——-—Judge of a State, County or City
——-—Magistrate
——-—Senior Judge
——-—Town Justice

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

When Should You Use the Forms on this Page?

You can use these forms of address for any mode of communication: addressing a letter, invitation, card or Email. (If there are differences between the official and social forms of address, I will have mentioned the different forms.)  The form noted in the salutation is the same form you say when you say their name in conversation or when you greet them.
___What I don’t cover on this site are many things I do cover in my book: all the rules of forms of address, about names, international titles, precedence, complimentary closes, details on invitations, place cards, all sorts of introductions, etc. I hope you’ll get a copy of the book if you’d like the further detail.

Not Finding Your Answer?

—-#1)  At right on desktops, at the bottom of every page on tablets and phones, is a list of all the offices, officials & topics covered on the site.

—-#2)  If you don’t see the official you seek included or your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day or so (unless I am traveling.)  Note: I don’t have mailing or Email addresses for any of the officials and I don’t keep track of offices that exist only in history books.

—-#3)  If I think your question is of interest to others, Sometimes I post the question  – but always change all the specifics.

— Robert Hickey 

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

Recommended Resources:  The Protocol School of Washington (PSOW) and Protocol and Diplomacy International – Protocol Officers Association (PDI-POA)    For more information see the Protocol Resources page.