This graphical timeline shows the progress of U.S. Supreme Court justices. [21] [22] This can be used to provide information (and comparisons between judges) about each judge`s predecessors, successors and fellow judges, as well as their tenure at the Court. There are no official names or numbers for each seat of the associate judges, which are simply listed by number in the table below. In addition, the evolution of U.S. presidents is displayed at the top of the timeline to provide more detailed historical context. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States. Its composition, under the Judicial Act of 1869, consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices, six of whom constitute a quorum. [1] [2] Article II, Section 2, Section 2, Section 2 of the Constitution gives the President of the United States the power to appoint Supreme Court justices and appoint them with the advice and consent of the United States Senate.
Judges are appointed for life[3] and receive a salary of $255,500 per year for the Chief Justice and $244,400 per year for each associate judge beginning in 2014. [4] [5] [6] Although Supreme Court justices are appointed for life, many have retired or resigned. Beginning in the early 20th century, many judges who voluntarily left the Court did so by withdrawing from the Court without leaving the federal judiciary completely. A retired judge is no longer a member of the Supreme Court under the United States Code, but retains the right to serve as a judge of a U.S. court of appeals or district court, and many retired judges have served in that capacity. In the past, the average length of service at the Court of Justice was less than 15 years. Since 1970, however, the average length of service has risen to about 26 years. [11] There are currently nine Supreme Court justices. In order of seniority, they are: since the creation of the Supreme Court in 1789, 115 people have sat on it. Conditions of service at the Court for the 106 non-serving judges range from 36 years and 211 days to 163 days for Thomas Johnson. Starting at 9.
As of January 2022, the terms of the nine sitting justices range from 30 years and 78 days for Clarence Thomas to 1 year and 74 days for Amy Coney Barrett. Five individuals were sustained as associate judges and later appointed separately as Chief Justices: John Rutledge, Edward Douglass White, Charles Evans Hughes, Harlan F. Stone and William Rehnquist. [b] Although they are listed twice, only one index number has been assigned to each of them. The justices of the Supreme Court are:[21][22] The Supreme Court was created by Article III of the United States Constitution, which states that “the judicial power of the United States is vested in a Supreme Court”[7] and was organized by the 1st United States Congress. By the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress established the court`s trial and appellate jurisdiction, created thirteen judicial districts, and fixed the number of judges at six (one chief justice and five associate judges). [8] [9] Since 1789, Congress has at times changed the size of the Supreme Court, historically in response to the country`s own expansion. An act of 1801 would have reduced the size of the court to five members on its next vacancy.
However, an 1802 act nullified the impact of the 1801 law on the court before such a vacancy occurred and maintained the size of the court at six members. Legislation later increased its size to seven members in 1807, nine in 1837, and ten in 1863. An 1866 act was supposed to reduce the size of the court from ten to seven members when its next three offices became vacant, and two positions appeared during this period. However, before a third office became vacant, the Judicial Act of 1869 intervened and restored the size of the court to nine members, where it has remained ever since. [10] Back row — Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, Associate Justice Elena Kagan, Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Front row, left to right — Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer, and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Many thanks to Pat Ward for providing the sound equipment and to Jerry Goldman for permission to use the Oyez project material.
Audio clips of each judge`s speech are intended to give an idea of what the judge`s voice sounds like and how he asked questions or spoke from the judge`s bench. In general, clips show the first time a judge has spoken or expressed an opinion at a hearing. However, due to poor audio quality, we sometimes replaced a clip later in their first semester. Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices and all Commonwealth judges are prohibited by rules of judicial conduct from discussing matters with members of the public. Please do not contact judicial chambers or judges to ask questions about cases, discuss cases or comment on cases. Lawyers are not able to respond to such communications. To submit a quote, contact the prothonotary`s office.
