“Oyez, oyez, oyez” is an Anglo-Norman French call meaning “hear ye, hear ye, hear ye,” shouted three times by the Marshal of the Supreme Court to open every public session. It’s pronounced “oh-YAY,” and it has been used in English and American courts, in roughly its current form, since the Middle Ages.
What Oyez Means
The word comes from the Old French verb ouïr, “to hear.” As a courtroom command, it meant exactly what it sounds like: stop talking and pay attention, because the court is about to speak.
Anglo-Norman French, often called Law French, was the working language of English courts from roughly the thirteenth century through the seventeenth. Formal oral use in courtrooms lingered until 1731, when Parliament finally required English for all court proceedings. A handful of Law French terms survived the switch anyway. Oyez is the most famous of them.
How to Pronounce It
Three pronunciations circulate, and all three appear in dictionaries:
- “oh-YAY” — the traditional pronunciation, closest to the original French, and what you’ll actually hear in the Supreme Court courtroom
- “oh-YEZ” — a middle-ground pronunciation that keeps the final consonant
- “oh-YES” — essentially folk etymology, where English speakers heard a familiar word and ran with it
If you want to match the Court, use “oh-YAY.”
The Full Proclamation
The triple “Oyez” is only the opening of a longer script that has stayed essentially fixed for generations. After the three calls, the Marshal continues: “All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting. God save the United States and this Honorable Court!”1Supreme Court Historical Society. How The Court Works — Oral Argument
That closing line, “God save the United States and this Honorable Court,” dates back to at least the tenure of Chief Justice John Marshall in the early 1800s. It echoes the English “God save the King,” redirected toward the nation and its judiciary. The phrase has occasionally drawn legal challenges on Establishment Clause grounds, but it has never been struck down and remains a fixed part of the ceremony.
Where You’ll Hear It
The call is most closely associated with the Supreme Court of the United States, but it isn’t unique to that courtroom. Many federal circuit courts and district courts open sessions with the same cry, and some state courts still use it as well. The function doesn’t change from one courthouse to another: it’s a formal demand for silence and attention before judicial proceedings begin.
When It Happens at the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court’s annual term begins on the first Monday in October, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 2.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2 – Terms of Court Oral arguments, and therefore the opening proclamation, are generally heard on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays during argument sittings that run from October through April. The Court usually hears two cases per day, beginning at 10:00 a.m., with occasional afternoon sessions when the docket is heavy.3Supreme Court of the United States. Visitor’s Guide to Oral Argument
From roughly May through September, the Justices are off the bench, writing opinions, reviewing petitions, and handling emergency applications. The proclamation isn’t delivered during those months. In practical terms, the ritual happens on something like 40 to 50 days a year, concentrated in two-week argument sittings with breaks of two or more weeks in between.
The choreography on an argument day is tight. At 10:00 a.m. sharp, the Marshal brings down the gavel. Everyone in the courtroom rises. The nine Justices emerge through openings in the curtains behind the bench and move to their chairs.1Supreme Court Historical Society. How The Court Works — Oral Argument Only then does the triple “Oyez” ring out. The gavel falls again, everyone sits, and the Court turns to the day’s business.
Who Actually Says It
The person at the podium is the Marshal of the Supreme Court. In older accounts of the Court’s proceedings you’ll see the title “Court Crier,” which was a separate officer who originally handled the opening call. That role has since been absorbed into the Marshal’s duties, so the same officer who calls the Court to order also maintains decorum in the courtroom, records the audio of arguments, and times the attorneys’ presentations.3Supreme Court of the United States. Visitor’s Guide to Oral Argument
The Marshal is appointed by the Court itself under 28 U.S.C. § 672 and serves at the Court’s pleasure.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 672 – Marshal So when “Oyez” is called at the Supreme Court, it comes from an officer of the Court speaking in a language that American courts inherited from medieval England, using words that have been doing the same job for about seven centuries.