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Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

United States federal judge position From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
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"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court" redirects here. For the members of the Philippines' highest court, see Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

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.

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Current associate justices

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

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Retired associate justices

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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 two living retired associate justices: Anthony Kennedy, retired July 31, 2018 and Stephen Breyer, retired June 30, 2022. Neither one has performed any judicial duties since retiring.

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List of associate justices

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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.
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References

Further reading

External links

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