Associate_Justice_of_the_Supreme_Court

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

United States federal judge position

An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869.[1]

Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States grants plenary power to the president to nominate, and with the advice and consent (confirmation) of the Senate, appoint justices to the Supreme Court. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution effectively grants life tenure to associate justices, and all other federal judges, which ends only when a justice dies, retires, resigns, or is impeached and convicted.[2]

Each Supreme Court justice has a single vote in deciding the cases argued before it, and the chief justice's vote counts no more than that of any other justice; however, the chief justice leads the discussion of the case among the justices. Furthermore, the chief justice—when in the majority—decides who writes the court's opinion; otherwise, the senior justice in the majority assigns the writing of a decision. The chief justice also has certain administrative responsibilities that the other justices do not and is paid slightly more ($298,500 per year as of 2023, compared to $285,400 per year for an associate justice).[3]

Associate justices have seniority in order of the date their respective commissions bear, although the chief justice is always considered to be the most senior justice. If two justices are commissioned on the same day, the elder is designated the senior justice of the two. Currently, the senior associate justice is Clarence Thomas. By tradition, when the justices are in conference deliberating the outcome of cases before the Supreme Court, the justices state their views in order of seniority. The senior associate justice is also tasked with carrying out the chief justice's duties when he is unable to, or if that office is vacant.

Current associate justices

There are currently eight associate justices on the Supreme Court. The justices, ordered by seniority, are:

Retired associate justices

An associate justice who leaves the Supreme Court after attaining the age and meeting the service requirements prescribed by federal statute (28 U.S.C. § 371) may retire rather than resign. After retirement, they keep their title, and by custom may also keep a set of chambers in the Supreme Court building, and employ law clerks. The names of retired associate justices continue to appear alongside those of the active justices in the bound volumes of Supreme Court decisions. Federal statute (28 U.S.C. § 294) provides that retired Supreme Court justices may serve—if designated and assigned by the chief justice—on panels of the U.S. courts of appeals, or on the U.S. district courts. Retired justices are not, however, authorized to take part in the consideration or decision of any cases before the Supreme Court (unlike other retired federal judges who may be permitted to do so in their former courts); neither are they known or designated as a "senior judge". When, after his retirement, William O. Douglas attempted to take a more active role than was customary, maintaining that it was his prerogative to do so because of his senior status, he was rebuffed by Chief Justice Warren Burger and admonished by the whole Court.[12]

There are currently three living retired associate justices: David Souter, retired June 29, 2009; Anthony Kennedy, retired July 31, 2018; and Stephen Breyer, retired June 30, 2022. Souter has served on panels of the First Circuit Courts of Appeals following his retirement; Kennedy and Breyer have not performed any judicial duties since retiring.

List of associate justices

Since the Supreme Court was established in 1789, the following 104 persons have served as an associate justice:[13][14]

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Notes

  1. The start date given here for each associate justice is the day they took the oath of office, and the end date is the day of the justice's death, resignation, or retirement.
  2. Listed here (unless otherwise noted) is the position—either with a U.S. state or the federal government, or with a private corporation—held by the individual immediately prior to becoming an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
  3. Later served as chief justice, June 30, 1795 – December 28, 1795.
  4. Was confirmed as chief justice on January 26, 1796, but declined and continued to serve as an associate justice.
  5. Recess appointment. Note: the date on which the justice took the judicial oath is here used as the date of the beginning of their service, not the date of the recess appointment.
  6. Was impeached, but not convicted, and remained in office.
  7. Served as chief justice, December 19, 1910 – May 19, 1921.
  8. Later served as chief justice, February 24, 1930 – June 30, 1941.
  9. Served as chief justice, July 3, 1941 – April 22, 1946.
  10. Served as chief justice, September 26, 1986 – September 3, 2005.

References

  1. [1]
    Hall, Kermit L. (2005). "Judiciary Act of 1869". In Hall, Kermit L.; Ely, James W.; Grossman, Joel B. (eds.). The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Oxford University Press. p. 548. ISBN 9780195176612. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  2. [2]
    McMillion, Barry J.; Rutkus, Denis Steven (July 6, 2018). "Supreme Court Nominations, 1789 to 2017: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 9, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  3. [3]
    "Judicial Compensation". United States Courts. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  4. [4]
    "Justice Clarence Thomas". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Archived from the original on May 15, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  5. [5]
    "Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  6. [6]
    "Justice Sonia Sotomayor". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  7. [7]
    "Justice Elena Kagan". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Archived from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  8. [8]
    "Justice Neil M. Gorsuch". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  9. [9]
    Fram, Alan; Mascaro, Lisa; Daly, Matthew (October 6, 2018). "Kavanaugh sworn to high court after rancorous confirmation". ap.org. New York, New York. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  10. [10]
    Barbara Sprunt (October 26, 2020). "Amy Coney Barrett Confirmed To Supreme Court, Takes Constitutional Oath". npr.org. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  11. [11]
    "WATCH LIVE: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson sworn in as first Black woman on Supreme Court". PBS NewsHour. June 30, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  12. [12]
    Woodward, Robert; Armstrong, Scott (1979). The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 480–488, 526. ISBN 978-0-7432-7402-9.
  13. [13]
    "Supreme Court Nominations (1789-Present)". washington, D.C.: United States Senate. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  14. [14]
    "Justices 1789 to Present". Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  15. [15]
    Klebanow, Diana & Jonas, Franklin L. (2003). People's Lawyers: Crusaders for Justice in American History. M. E. Sharpe. p. 61. ISBN 978-0765606730 – via Google Books.

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