Supreme Court of the United States

• Justices
  • 
    CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS
  • ASSOCIATE JUSTICES
    • SAMUEL ALITO
    • AMY CONEY BARRETT
    • STEPHEN BREYER
    • NEIL GORSUCH
    • ELENA KAGAN
    • BRETT KAVANAUGH
    • SONIA SOTOMAYOR
    • CLARENCE THOMAS
• CASES BY TERM
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2020-2021
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2019-2020
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2018-2019
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2017-2018
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2016-2017
  • Supreme Court cases, October term 2015-2016
• HISTORY OF THE COURT
  • CHIEF JUSTICE ERAS
  • HISTORIC SCOTUS CASES
  • MAJOR CASES OF THE SUPREME COURT 2016 TERM
  • MAJOR CASES OF THE SUPREME COURT 2015 TERM
    • What happens to this term's major SCOTUS cases in a 4-4 split?
  • MAJOR CASES OF THE SUPREME COURT 2014 TERM
  • MAJOR CASES OF THE SUPREME COURT 2013 TERM
  • MAJOR CASES OF THE SUPREME COURT 2012 TERM
• Recent vacancies
  • 2020 VACANCY
  • 2018 VACANCY AND KAVANAUGH CONFIRMATION
  • 2017 VACANCY AND GORSUCH CONFIRMATION

SCOTUS
Judgeships
Posts: 9
Judges: 9
Vacancies: 0
Judges
Chief: John Roberts
Active judges: Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, Clarence Thomas, Amy Coney Barrett Senior judges: Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the country and leads the judicial branch of the federal government. It is often referred to by the acronym SCOTUS.

The Supreme Court consists of nine justices: the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices. The justices are nominated by the president and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the United States Senate per Article II of the United States Constitution. As federal judges, the justices serve during "good behavior," which means that justices have tenure for life unless they are removed by impeachment and subsequent conviction.

The Supreme Court is the only court established by the United States Constitution (in Article III); all other federal courts are created by Congress.

The Supreme Court meets in Washington, D.C., in the United States Supreme Court building. The Supreme Court's yearly term begins on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October the following year. The court generally releases the majority of its decisions in mid-June.

Active Justices

Article III Justices

See: Article III federal judge

Article III Justices
Judge	Born	Home	Appointed by	Active	Preceeded by	Law school
Associate justice Samuel Alito	April 1, 1950	Trenton, N.J.	W. Bush	January 31, 2006 - Present	Sandra Day O'Connor	Yale Law School, 1975
Chief justice John Roberts	January 27, 1955	Buffalo, N.Y.	W. Bush	September 29, 2005 - Present	William Rehnquist	Harvard Law, 1979
Associate justice Clarence Thomas	June 23, 1948	Savannah, Ga.	H.W. Bush	July 1, 1991 - Present	Thurgood Marshall	Yale Law School, 1974
Associate justice Stephen Breyer	August 15, 1938	San Francisco, Calif.	Clinton	August 5, 1993 - Present	Byron White	Columbia Law School, 1959
Associate justice Elena Kagan	April 28, 1960	New York, N.Y.	Obama	August 7, 2010 - Present	John Paul Stevens	Harvard Law School, J.D., 1986
Associate justice Sonia Sotomayor	June 25, 1954	New York, N.Y.	Obama	August 6, 2009 - Present	David Souter	Yale Law School, 1979
Associate justice Neil Gorsuch	August 29, 1967	Denver, Colo.	Trump	April 10, 2017 - Present	Antonin Scalia	Harvard Law School, 1991
Associate justice Brett Kavanaugh	February 12, 1965	Washington, D.C.	Trump	October 6, 2018 - Present	Anthony Kennedy	Yale Law School, 1990
Associate justice Amy Coney Barrett	January 28, 1972	New Orleans, La.	Trump	October 26, 2020 - Present	Ruth Bader Ginsburg	Notre Dame Law School, 1997

SCOTUS background

Article III of the United States Constitution describes the original framework for the Judicial Branch. It establishes the U.S. Supreme Court as the nation's highest court and gives Congress the authority to create lower federal courts.

Article III, Section 1

Section 1 establishes the Supreme Court of the United States. It gives Congress the power to organize the Supreme Court and to establish lower courts. It also states that justices can serve on the court for as long as they maintain "good Behaviour," and that the justices should be compensated for their service.

Text of Section 1: “ The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office. ”

Size of the court

See also: United States court reorganization legislation

History Central, "Supreme Court of the United States."

Article III gives Congress the authority to set the number of Supreme Court justices. The court currently has one chief justice and eight associate justices, but the number has fluctuated since 1789.

• Originally, the total number of justices was set at six by the Judiciary Act of 1789. President George Washington signed the act into law on September 24, 1789, and he nominated John Jay to serve as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

• The Judiciary Act of 1801 reduced the number of justices from six to five.

• In 1807, Congress increased the number of justices on the Supreme Court to seven "in response to the geographic expansion of the nation and the increased caseload of the district courts in the west. The act established a Seventh Circuit, consisting of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and specified that the new justice be assigned to preside over the U.S. circuit courts within that circuit."

• The Eighth and Ninth Circuits Act of 1837 created the Eighth and Ninth Circuits to provide for an expanded caseload due to the admission of new states to the Union. This Act also rearranged the Seventh Circuit and created two new seats on the Supreme Court to support the circuit court.

• The Tenth Circuit Act of 1863 created the Tenth Circuit to represent California and Oregon, eliminated the California Circuit Court and added another member to the Supreme Court. This act gave the Supreme Court its highest number of members in history, with the chief justice and nine associate justices serving.

• The Judicial Circuits Act of 1866 reorganized the circuits in the thirty-six state nation, reducing the number of circuits from ten to nine. This reorganization created a basic structure of circuits lasting to present day. The Act also eliminated three positions on the Supreme Court.

• The Judiciary Act of 1869 again increased the size of the Supreme Court, setting it at nine justices, one for each circuit.

Tenure

According to SupremeCourt.gov, "The Constitution states that Justices 'shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour.' This means that the Justices hold office as long as they choose and can only be removed from office by impeachment. The only Justice to be impeached was Associate Justice Samuel Chase in 1805. The House of Representatives passed Articles of Impeachment against him; however, he was acquitted by the Senate."

Salary

Section I states that justices will "receive for their Services a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office." According to the Judicial Learning Center, "This security allows judges to decide each case strictly in terms of the legal issues in front of them, no matter how unpopular their decisions may be," which helps guarantee judicial independence. In 2016, the salary for Chief Justice John Roberts was set at $260,700, and the salary for the associate justices was set at $249,300.

Article III, Section 2

Section 2 establishes the court's jurisdiction. The court has original and appellate jurisdiction.

Original jurisdiction is "a court's power to hear and decide a case before any appellate review." According to 28 U.S. Code § 1251, the Supreme Court has "original and exclusive jurisdiction of all controversies between two or more States." It also has "original but not exclusive jurisdiction of: (1) All actions or proceedings to which ambassadors, other public ministers, consuls, or vice consuls of foreign states are parties; (2) All controversies between the United States and a State; (3) All actions or proceedings by a State against the citizens of another State or against aliens."

Appellate jurisdiction accounts for most of the cases on the court's docket, and is "The power of a court to hear appeals from lower courts. This includes the power to reverse or modify the the [sic] lower court's decision."

Text of Section 2: “ The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;--to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;--to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;--to Controversies between two or more States;-- between a State and Citizens of another State,--between Citizens of different States,--between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects. In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make. The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed. ”

Nomination and confirmation process

Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution gives the President of the United States the authority to nominate Supreme Court justices, and they are appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate. The newest member of the Supreme Court, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, was nominated by President Donald Trump (R) on September 29, 2020, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 26, 2020.

Text of Section 2: “ He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. ”

Choosing a nominee

List of potential nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court drawn up by Attorney General Levi and annotated and amended by President Gerald R. Ford.

Although the rules for appointing and confirming a U.S. Supreme Court justice are set out in the U.S. Constitution, the process for choosing nominees is not codified in law. Past presidents have received lists of recommendations from the White House counsel, the attorney general and lawyers in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. Justices have often been friends or acquaintances who shared ideological views with the president.

The nominating process is also influenced by individuals and organizations outside of the administration. The American Bar Association (ABA), through its 15-member Committee on Federal Judiciary, rates nominees as "well qualified," "qualified" or "not qualified." Others also lobby the president to choose nominees sympathetic to their views or to oppose those with whom they differ.

Some presidents have required that a nominee hold a specific position on a key issue in order to be considered for nomination, sometimes referred to as a litmus test. Such a test is typically on an important social issue. But a nominee's views do not always conform to their future opinions. Some justices have ruled in ways that surprised the presidents who nominated them. Notable examples are Justice Tom C. Clark (nominated by President Harry S. Truman), Chief Justice Earl Warren (nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower) and Justice David Souter (nominated by President George H. W. Bush).

The usual nomination process starts with the president choosing a nominee. It is not uncommon for the president to consult Senate leadership and the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee before deciding on a nominee.

Consideration by the Senate Judiciary

Ruth Bader Ginsburg accepts her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court while President Bill Clinton looks on.

After the president nominates an individual, the Senate Judiciary Committee conducts a rigorous investigation into the nominee’s background, gleaning a sense of his or her judicial philosophy and temperament, which helps inform whether the senator will support the nominee. During this part of the process, the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary reviews the nominee. The nominee also visits with senators in their offices in order to help win support for nomination. The most public aspect of the process is when the nominee testifies before the Judiciary Committee and takes questions. The hearing, which is kept open at the discretion of the chair, can last more than a day, as members, particularly opponents, verbally spar with the nominee. Having the nominee appear before the committee became a part of the process beginning with the nomination of John M. Harlan in 1955. The first televised Supreme Court nomination hearing took place in 1981 for Sandra Day O’Connor.

Typically, a week after the hearing is adjourned, the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a vote on the nominee. The committee’s practice has been to send the nomination, whether or not the nominee wins a majority, to the full Senate to allow the chamber to decide whether he or she should be confirmed.

"President George W. Bush watches as Judge John G. Roberts is sworn-in as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States by Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens," September 29, 2005.

The debate in the Senate is scheduled by the Senate majority leader in consultation with the minority leader. In 2013, the Senate lowered the threshold to close debate on most nominations to a simple majority from 60 votes. But the change did not affect Supreme Court nominees, whose confirmation requires 60 votes to invoke cloture and end debate and proceed to a confirmation vote.

Recess appointment

The president also may choose to make a recess appointment, which would avoid the need for Senate confirmation. But the justice's term would end with the end of the next session of Congress, rather than the lifetime appointments provided by Senate confirmation. There have been 12 recess appointments made to the Supreme Court, most in the 19th century, according to the Congressional Research Service. The most recent was made by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Oath of office

When a Supreme Court nominee is confirmed by the Senate, Article VI of the U.S. Constitution requires the individual to take an oath of office before officially taking his or her place on the court.

Text of Article VI: “ The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. ”

The Constitutional Oath: “ I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God. ”

Nominees must also take a judicial oath. According to SupremeCourt.gov, "The origin of the second oath is found in the Judiciary Act of 1789, which reads 'the justices of the Supreme Court, and the district judges, before they proceed to execute the duties of their respective offices' to take a second oath or affirmation."

The Judicial Oath “ I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as _________ under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God. ”

Circuit assignments

Each Supreme Court justice is assigned to one of the 13 circuit courts of appeals, according to Title 28, United States Code, Section 42. "Circuit Justices are responsible for ruling on certain motions arising from their assigned circuits, such as motions for extensions of time. In the case motions for a stay of execution or other motions relating to death penalty matters, the Circuit Justice ordinarily refers the motion to the Court as a whole, but takes the lead in recommending a disposition of the motion," according to SCOTUSblog.

SCOTUS Circuit Court Assignments
Federal Circuit Court	Justice	States
District of Columbia Circuit	Chief Justice John G. Roberts	District of Columbia
First Circuit	Justice Stephen Breyer	Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island
Second Circuit	Justice Sonia Sotomayor	Connecticut, New York, Vermont
Third Circuit	Justice Samuel Alito	Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virgin Islands
Fourth Circuit	Chief Justice John G. Roberts	Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia
Fifth Circuit	Justice Samuel Alito	Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas
Sixth Circuit	Justice Brett Kavanaugh	Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee
Seventh Circuit	Justice Amy Coney Barrett	Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin
Eighth Circuit	Justice Brett Kavanaugh	Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
Ninth Circuit	Justice Elena Kagan	Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Washington
Tenth Circuit	Justice Neil Gorsuch	Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming
Eleventh Circuit	Justice Clarence Thomas	Alabama, Florida, Georgia
Federal Circuit	Chief Justice John G. Roberts	The Federal Circuit's jurisdiction is determined by the subject of the lawsuit, not geographical location.

Click on your region to find more information about the court of appeals for your state.

Political ideology of the justices

Although the justices do not represent political parties, media outlets such as The Washington Post commonly characterize Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, Kagan, and Sotomayor as liberal and Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito, Gorsuch, and Thomas as conservative. According to the Post, Justice Kennedy was "a [Republican President Ronald] Reagan appointee but one who often sides with the court's liberals on social issues, such as same-sex marriage."

Supreme Court scholars have also developed measures of the justices' political ideologies, such as the Segal-Cover score. The Segal-Cover score, which was first presented in a 1989 paper by State University of New York-Stony Brook professors Jeffrey Segal and Albert Cover, is based on an analysis of newspaper editorials published between the time of each justice's nomination to the Supreme Court and his or her confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Scores range from 0, which is the most conservative, to 100, which is the most liberal.

Updated Segal-Cover scores were included in the November 1, 2017, version of The Supreme Court Justices Database, a project led by Washington University in St. Louis professors Lee Epstein and Nancy Staudt and Emory University professor Thomas Walker. The November 2017 scores for the justices appear below from most liberal to most conservative.

Political ideology of Supreme Court justices (November 2017)
Sotomayor: 78	Kagan: 73	Ginsburg: 68	Breyer: 47.5	Kennedy: 36.5	Thomas: 16	Roberts: 12	Gorsuch: 11	Alito: 10

Opinions

Major cases of the Supreme Court October 2020 term
See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2020-2021

Major cases of the Supreme Court October 2019 term
See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2019-2020

Major cases of the Supreme Court October 2018 term
See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2018-2019

Major cases of the Supreme Court October 2017 term
See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2017-2018

Major cases of the Supreme Court October 2016 term
See also: Major cases of the Supreme Court October 2016 term

Major cases of the Supreme Court October 2015 term
See also: Major cases of the Supreme Court October 2015 term What happens to this term's major SCOTUS cases in a 4-4 split?

Response to coronavirus pandemic (2020)

See also: Coronavirus outbreak, 2020

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Court releases opinions into July

By law, each Supreme Court term begins on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October the following year. The court's 2019-2020 term began on October 7, 2019, and ended on October 5, 2020. Traditionally, the court finishes releasing opinions in June. However, delays from the coronavirus pandemic caused the court to release opinions into July for the first time since 1996. Before that, the last time the court issued opinions into July was in 1988.

Stephen Wermiel, writing for SCOTUSblog, noted that during Chief Justice Warren Burger's tenure (1969-1986), "it was common for terms to run [into July]. Indeed, in 1976 and in every year from 1978 through 1986, the court handed down decisions in the first week of July." During that time, the Supreme Court decided as many as 150 cases in a term. Between 2007 and 2018, SCOTUS released opinions in an average of 77 cases per year.

The court released the term's final opinions on July 9, 2020. Before that, the latest regular date for issuing opinions between 1960 and 2020 was July 7, 1986. The court continued to release opinions until July 6 in 1976 and 1983.

Court announces teleconferences for specific cases

On April 13, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hold arguments by teleconference for 13 cases from May 4 to May 13 that were previously postponed from the March and April sittings. The court's public information officer said that live audio of the arguments would be made available to the public for the first time in the court's history. Click here for more information on the cases the court decided to hear in May.

On April 28, the court announced new procedures for conducting the oral arguments via conference call. The court used a teleconferencing system to hear oral arguments. Several new procedures were announced, including rules for which Justices will ask questions based on seniority.

Court postpones April sitting

On April 3, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it was postponing the eight hours of oral argument originally scheduled during its April sitting. In a statement, the court said it would "consider rescheduling some cases from the March and April sessions before the end of the Term, if circumstances permit in light of public health and safety guidance at that time."

The court said it would continue to release opinions using the court website, hold regularly scheduled conferences, and issue order lists.

Court postpones March sitting

On March 16, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it was postponing the 11 oral arguments originally scheduled during its March sitting. In a press release, the court said the delay was "in keeping with public health precautions recommended in response to COVID-19."

Court closes to the public indefinitely

The U.S. Supreme Court announced on March 12, 2020, that it was closing to the public indefinitely, beginning at 4:30 p.m. that day. The court posted on its website, "Out of concern for the health and safety of the public and Supreme Court employees, the Supreme Court Building will be closed to the public from 4:30 p.m. on March 12, 2020, until further notice." For more information on government responses to the virus, click here.

Actions affecting the November 3, 2020, general election

See also: U.S. Supreme Court actions affecting the November 3, 2020, general election

The map below highlights states whose policies and procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election were affected by U.S. Supreme Court actions. For more detailed information, including case summaries, click here.

Former Chief Justices

The following individuals previously served as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

William Rehnquist - (1986-2005) The Rehnquist Court Warren Burger - (1969-1986) The Burger Court Earl Warren - (1953-1969) The Warren Court Fred Vinson - (1946-1953) The Vinson Court Harlan Fiske Stone - (1941-1946) The Stone Court

Charles Evans Hughes - (1930-1941) The Hughes Court William Howard Taft - (1921-1930) The Taft Court Edward Douglass White - (1910-1921) The White Court Melville Fuller - (1888-1910) The Fuller Court Morrison Waite - (1874-1888) The Waite Court

Salmon Portland Chase - (1864-1873) The Chase Court Roger Taney - (1836-1864) The Taney Court John Marshall - (1801-1835) The Marshall Court Oliver Ellsworth - (1796-1800) The Ellsworth Court John Rutledge - (1795) The Rutledge Court

John Jay - (1789-1795) The Jay Court

The Supreme Court Building

Construction of the U.S. Supreme Court Building in December, 1933.

The Supreme Court first met in the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City and then moved to Independence Hall in Philadelphia when the federal government moved there in 1790. In 1800, when the federal government moved for a final time to Washington, D.C., the court met in various rooms in the Capitol Building. "Additionally, the Court convened for a short period in a private house after the British set fire to the Capitol during the War of 1812. Following this episode, the Court returned to the Capitol and met from 1819 to 1860 in a chamber now restored as the 'Old Supreme Court Chamber.' Then from 1860 until 1935, the Court sat in what is now known as the 'Old Senate Chamber,'" according to SupremCourt.gov. In 1929, "architect Cass Gilbert was charged by Chief Justice Taft to design 'a building of dignity and importance suitable for its use as the permanent home of the Supreme Court of the United States.'" Construction was completed in 1935, and the court moved to its permanent residence at One First Street Northeast, Washington, D.C.

Seating

Inside the U.S. Supreme Court.

According to SupremeCourt.gov, "As is customary in American courts, the nine Justices are seated by seniority on the Bench. The Chief Justice occupies the center chair; the senior Associate Justice sits to his right, the second senior to his left, and so on, alternating right and left by seniority."

See also

• Supreme Court cases, October term 2020-2021
• Supreme Court cases, October term 2019-2020
• Supreme Court cases, October term 2018-2019
• Supreme Court cases, October term 2017-2018
• History of the Supreme Court
• Federal judicial appointments by president
• Article III, United States Constitution

External links

• U.S. Supreme Court website