List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States

The Roberts Court, 2010
Back row (left to right): Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel A. Alito, and Elena Kagan. Front row (left to right): Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States. Its membership consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices. The justices are nominated by the President of the United States and appointed after confirmation by the United States Senate. Justices of the Supreme Court have life tenure^[1] and receive a salary which is set at $255,500 per year for the chief justice and at $244,400 per year for each associate justice as of 2014.^[2][3][4] On August 7, 2010, Justice Elena Kagan became the 112th justice to serve on the Court.^[5]

The Supreme Court was created in 1789 by Article III of the United States Constitution, which stipulates that the "judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court" together with any lower courts Congress may establish.^[1] Congress organized the Court that year with the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789. It specified the Court's original and appellate jurisdiction, created thirteen judicial districts, and fixed the number of justices at six (one chief justice and five associate justices).^[6][7]

Since the passage of the Judiciary Act, Congress has occasionally altered the size of the Supreme Court, historically in response to the country's own expansion in size. Membership was decreased in 1801 to five, then increased to seven members in 1807, to nine in 1837, and to ten in 1863. It was then reduced to seven in 1866. In 1869, Congress set the Court's size to nine members, where it has remained since.^[8]

While the justices of the Supreme Court are appointed for life, some choose to retire: a total of 54 have retired or resigned. Historically, the average length of service on the Court has been less than 15 years; however, since 1970 the average length of service has increased to about 26 years.^[9]

List of justices

The following table lists all justices except Edwin Stanton, who died before taking office. John Rutledge and Charles Evans Hughes appear twice because of their non-consecutive terms as Associate Justice and then Chief Justice, but each has been assigned only one index number.

Legend	† Former chief justices   †† Current chief justice   Current associate justices  * Recess appointment

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Justice	Age at appointment	Retirement	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	John Jay†	NY	1745–1829	1789–1795 (5–6 years)	1789–1795	43 years 288 days	—	Washington	Resignation
2	John Rutledge	SC	1739–1800	1789–1791 (1–2 years)	—		—	Washington	Resignation[n 1]
3	William Cushing	MA	1732–1810	1789–1810 (20–21 years)	—		—	Washington	Death
4	James Wilson	PA	1742–1798	1789–1798 (8–9 years)	—		—	Washington	Death
5	John Blair, Jr.	VA	1732–1800	1789–1795 (5–6 years)	—		—	Washington	Resignation
6	James Iredell	NC	1751–1799	1790–1799 (8–9 years)	—		—	Washington	Death
7	Thomas Johnson*	MD	1732–1819	1792–1793 (0–1 years)	—		—	Washington	Resignation
8	William Paterson	NJ	1745–1806	1793–1806 (12–13 years)	—		—	Washington	Death
2	John Rutledge*†	SC	1739–1800	1795–1795 (0 years)	1795	55 years 287 days	—	Washington	Rejection
9	Samuel Chase	MD	1741–1811	1796–1811 (14–15 years)	—		—	Washington	Death
10	Oliver Ellsworth†	CT	1745–1807	1796–1800 (3–4 years)	1796–1800	50 years 314 days	—	Washington	Resignation
11	Bushrod Washington	VA	1762–1829	1798–1829 (30–31 years)	—		—	Adams, J.	Death
12	Alfred Moore	NC	1755–1810	1800–1804 (3–4 years)	—		—	Adams, J.	Resignation
13	John Marshall†	VA	1755–1835	1801–1835 (33–34 years)	1801–1835	45 years 133 days	—	Adams, J.	Death
14	William Johnson	SC	1771–1834	1804–1834 (29–30 years)	—		—	Jefferson	Death
15	Henry Brockholst Livingston	NY	1757–1823	1807–1823 (15–16 years)	—		—	Jefferson	Death
16	Thomas Todd	KY	1765–1826	1807–1826 (18–19 years)	—		—	Jefferson	Death
17	Gabriel Duvall	MD	1752–1844	1811–1835 (23–24 years)	—		—	Madison	Resignation
18	Joseph Story	MA	1779–1845	1812–1845 (32–33 years)	—		—	Madison	Death
19	Smith Thompson*	NY	1768–1843	1823–1843 (19–20 years)	—		—	Monroe	Death
20	Robert Trimble	KY	1776–1828	1826–1828 (1–2 years)	—		—	Adams, J. Q.	Death
21	John McLean	OH	1785–1861	1829–1861 (30–31 years)	—		—	Jackson	Death
22	Henry Baldwin	PA	1780–1844	1830–1844 (13–14 years)	—		—	Jackson	Death
23	James Moore Wayne	GA	1790–1867	1835–1867 (31–32 years)	—		—	Jackson	Death
24	Roger B. Taney†	MD	1777–1864	1836–1864 (27–28 years)	1836–1864	59 years 11 days	—	Jackson	Death
25	Philip Pendleton Barbour	VA	1783–1841	1836–1841 (4–5 years)	—		—	Jackson	Death
26	John Catron	TN	1786–1865	1837–1865 (27–28 years)	—		—	Jackson	Death
27	John McKinley	AL	1780–1852	1837–1852 (14–15 years)	—		—	Van Buren	Death
28	Peter Vivian Daniel	VA	1784–1860	1842–1860 (17–18 years)	—		—	Van Buren	Death
29	Samuel Nelson	NY	1792–1873	1845–1872 (26–27 years)	—		—	Tyler	Retirement
30	Levi Woodbury*	NH	1789–1851	1845–1851 (5–6 years)	—		—	Polk	Death
31	Robert Cooper Grier	PA	1794–1870	1846–1870 (23–24 years)	—		—	Polk	Retirement
32	Benjamin Robbins Curtis*	MA	1809–1874	1851–1857 (5–6 years)	—		—	Fillmore	Resignation
33	John Archibald Campbell	AL	1811–1889	1853–1861 (7–8 years)	—		—	Pierce	Resignation
34	Nathan Clifford	ME	1803–1881	1858–1881 (22–23 years)	—		—	Buchanan	Death
35	Noah Haynes Swayne	OH	1804–1884	1862–1881 (18–19 years)	—		—	Lincoln	Retirement
36	Samuel Freeman Miller	IA	1816–1890	1862–1890 (27–28 years)	—		—	Lincoln	Death
37	David Davis*	IL	1815–1886	1862–1877 (14–15 years)	—		—	Lincoln	Resignation
38	Stephen Johnson Field	CA	1816–1899	1863–1897 (33–34 years)	—		—	Lincoln	Retirement
39	Salmon P. Chase†	OH	1808–1873	1864–1873 (8–9 years)	1864–1873	56 years 337 days	—	Lincoln	Death
40	William Strong	PA	1808–1895	1870–1880 (9–10 years)	—		—	Grant	Retirement
41	Joseph P. Bradley	NJ	1813–1892	1870–1892 (21–22 years)	—		—	Grant	Death
42	Ward Hunt	NY	1810–1886	1873–1882 (8–9 years)	—		—	Grant	Retirement
43	Morrison Waite†	OH	1816–1888	1874–1888 (13–14 years)	1874–1888	57 years 95 days	—	Grant	Death
44	John Marshall Harlan	KY	1833–1911	1877–1911 (33–34 years)	—		—	Hayes	Death
45	William Burnham Woods	AL	1824–1887	1881–1887 (5–6 years)	—		—	Hayes	Death
46	Stanley Matthews	OH	1824–1889	1881–1889 (7–8 years)	—		—	Garfield	Death
47	Horace Gray	MA	1828–1902	1882–1902 (19–20 years)	—		—	Arthur	Death
48	Samuel Blatchford	NY	1820–1893	1882–1893 (10–11 years)	—		—	Arthur	Death
49	Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar	MS	1825–1893	1888–1893 (4–5 years)	—		—	Cleveland	Death
50	Melville Fuller†	IL	1833–1910	1888–1910 (21–22 years)	1888–1910	55 years 240 days	—	Cleveland	Death
51	David Josiah Brewer	KS	1837–1910	1890–1910 (19–20 years)	—		—	Harrison, B.	Death
52	Henry Billings Brown	MI	1836–1913	1891–1906 (14–15 years)	—		—	Harrison, B.	Retirement
53	George Shiras, Jr.	PA	1832–1924	1892–1903 (10–11 years)	—		—	Harrison, B.	Retirement
54	Howell Edmunds Jackson	TN	1832–1895	1893–1895 (1–2 years)	—		—	Harrison, B.	Death
55	Edward Douglass White†	LA	1845–1921	1894–1921 (26–27 years)	1910–1921	65 years 39 days	—	Cleveland (associate) Taft (chief)[n 2]	Death
56	Rufus Wheeler Peckham	NY	1838–1909	1896–1909 (12–13 years)	—		—	Cleveland	Death
57	Joseph McKenna	CA	1843–1926	1898–1925 (26–27 years)	1921 (acting)[n 3]		—	McKinley	Retirement
58	Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.	MA	1841–1932	1902–1932 (29–30 years)	1930 (acting)[n 4]		—	Roosevelt, T.	Retirement
59	William R. Day	OH	1849–1923	1903–1922 (18–19 years)	—		—	Roosevelt, T.	Retirement
60	William Henry Moody	MA	1853–1917	1906–1910 (3–4 years)	—		—	Roosevelt, T.	Retirement[n 5]
61	Horace Harmon Lurton	TN	1844–1914	1910–1914 (3–4 years)	—		—	Taft	Death
62	Charles Evans Hughes	NY	1862–1948	1910–1916 (5–6 years)	—		—	Taft	Resignation[n 1]
63	Willis Van Devanter	WY	1859–1941	1911–1937 (25–26 years)	—		1937–1941 (3–4 years)	Taft	Retirement
64	Joseph Rucker Lamar	GA	1857–1916	1911–1916 (4–5 years)	—		—	Taft	Death
65	Mahlon Pitney	NJ	1858–1924	1912–1922 (9–10 years)	—		—	Taft	Resignation
66	James Clark McReynolds	TN	1862–1946	1914–1941 (26–27 years)	—		1941–1946 (4–5 years)	Wilson	Retirement[n 6]
67	Louis Brandeis	MA	1856–1941	1916–1939 (22–23 years)	—		1939–1941 (1–2 years)	Wilson	Retirement[n 6]
68	John Hessin Clarke	OH	1857–1945	1916–1922 (5–6 years)	—		—	Wilson	Resignation
69	William Howard Taft†	OH	1857–1930	1921–1930 (8–9 years)	1921–1930	63 years 299 days	—	Harding	Resignation[n 7]
70	George Sutherland	UT	1862–1942	1922–1938 (15–16 years)	—		1938–1942 (3–4 years)	Harding	Retirement[n 6]
71	Pierce Butler	MN	1866–1939	1923–1939 (15–16 years)	—		—	Harding	Death
72	Edward Terry Sanford	TN	1865–1930	1923–1930 (6–7 years)	—		—	Harding	Death
73	Harlan F. Stone†	NY	1872–1946	1925–1946 (20–21 years)	1941–1946[n 8]	68 years 265 days	—	Coolidge (associate) Roosevelt, F. (chief)[n 2]	Death
62	Charles Evans Hughes†	NY	1862–1948	1930–1941 (10–11 years)	1930–1941	67 years 319 days	—	Hoover	Retirement
74	Owen Roberts	PA	1875–1955	1930–1945 (14–15 years)	—		—	Hoover	Resignation
75	Benjamin N. Cardozo	NY	1870–1938	1932–1938 (5–6 years)	—		—	Hoover	Death
76	Hugo Black	AL	1886–1971	1937–1971 (33–34 years)	1946 (acting) 1953 (acting)[n 9][n 10]		1971–1971 (0 years)	Roosevelt, F.	Retirement[n 6]
77	Stanley Forman Reed	KY	1884–1980	1938–1957 (18–19 years)	—		1957–1980 (22–23 years)	Roosevelt, F.	Retirement[n 6]
78	Felix Frankfurter	MA	1882–1965	1939–1962 (22–23 years)	—		1962–1965 (2–3 years)	Roosevelt, F.	Retirement[n 6]
79	William O. Douglas	CT	1898–1980	1939–1975 (35–36 years)	—		1975–1980 (4–5 years)	Roosevelt, F.	Retirement[n 6]
80	Frank Murphy	MI	1890–1949	1940–1949 (8–9 years)	—		—	Roosevelt, F.	Death
81	James F. Byrnes	SC	1882–1972	1941–1942 (0–1 years)	—		—	Roosevelt, F.	Resignation
82	Robert H. Jackson	NY	1892–1954	1941–1954 (12–13 years)	—		—	Roosevelt, F.	Death
83	Wiley Blount Rutledge	IA	1894–1949	1943–1949 (5–6 years)	—		—	Roosevelt, F.	Death
84	Harold Hitz Burton	OH	1888–1964	1945–1958 (12–13 years)	—		1958–1964 (5–6 years)	Truman	Retirement[n 6]
85	Fred M. Vinson†	KY	1890–1953	1946–1953 (6–7 years)	1946–1953	56 years 153 days	—	Truman	Death
86	Tom C. Clark	TX	1899–1977	1949–1967 (17–18 years)	—		1967–1977 (9–10 years)	Truman	Retirement[n 6]
87	Sherman Minton	IN	1890–1965	1949–1956 (6–7 years)	—		1956–1965 (8–9 years)	Truman	Retirement[n 6]
88	Earl Warren*†	CA	1891–1974	1953–1969 (15–16 years)	1953–1969	62 years 200 days	1969–1974 (4–5 years)	Eisenhower	Retirement[n 6]
89	John Marshall Harlan II	NY	1899–1971	1955–1971 (15–16 years)	—		1971–1971 (0 years)	Eisenhower	Retirement[n 6]
90	William J. Brennan, Jr.*	NJ	1906–1997	1956–1990 (33–34 years)	—		1990–1997 (6–7 years)	Eisenhower	Retirement[n 6]
91	Charles Evans Whittaker	MO	1901–1973	1957–1962 (4–5 years)	—		1962–1965 (2–3 years)	Eisenhower	Resignation
92	Potter Stewart*	OH	1915–1985	1958–1981 (22–23 years)	—		1981–1985 (3–4 years)	Eisenhower	Retirement
93	Byron White	CO	1917–2002	1962–1993 (30–31 years)	—		1993–2002 (8–9 years)	Kennedy	Retirement[n 6]
94	Arthur Goldberg	IL	1908–1990	1962–1965 (2–3 years)	—		—	Kennedy	Resignation
95	Abe Fortas	TN	1910–1982	1965–1969 (3–4 years)	—		—	Johnson, L.	Resignation
96	Thurgood Marshall	NY	1908–1993	1967–1991 (23–24 years)	—		1991–1993 (1–2 years)	Johnson, L.	Retirement[n 6]
97	Warren E. Burger†	MN	1907–1995	1969–1986 (16–17 years)	1969–1986	61 years 279 days	1986–1995 (8–9 years)	Nixon	Retirement[n 6]
98	Harry Blackmun	MN	1908–1999	1970–1994 (23–24 years)	—		1994–1999 (4–5 years)	Nixon	Retirement[n 6]
99	Lewis F. Powell, Jr.	VA	1907–1998	1972–1987 (14–15 years)	—		1987–1998 (10–11 years)	Nixon	Retirement[n 6]
100	William Rehnquist†	AZ VA[n 11]	1924–2005	1972–2005 (32–33 years)	1986–2005	61 years 360 days	—	Nixon (associate) Reagan (chief)[n 2]	Death
101	John Paul Stevens	IL	1920–	1975–2010 (34–35 years)	2005 (acting)[n 12]		2010–present (5–6 years)	Ford	Retirement
102	Sandra Day O'Connor	AZ	1930–	1981–2006 (24–25 years)	—		2006–present (9–10 years)	Reagan	Retirement
103	Antonin Scalia	VA	1936–2016	1986–2016 (29–30 years)	—		—	Reagan	Death
104	Anthony Kennedy	CA	1936–	1988–present (27–28 years)	—		—	Reagan	Currently serving
105	David Souter	NH	1939–	1990–2009 (18–19 years)	—		2009–present (6–7 years)	Bush, G. H. W.	Retirement
106	Clarence Thomas	GA	1948–	1991–present (24–25 years)	—		—	Bush, G. H. W.	Currently serving
107	Ruth Bader Ginsburg	DC	1933–	1993–present (22–23 years)	—		—	Clinton	Currently serving
108	Stephen Breyer	MA	1938–	1994–present (21–22 years)	—		—	Clinton	Currently serving
109	John G. Roberts††	MD	1955–	2005–present (10–11 years)	2005–present	50 years 245 day	—	Bush, G. W.	Currently serving
110	Samuel Alito	NJ	1950–	2006–present (9–10 years)	—		—	Bush, G. W.	Currently serving
111	Sonia Sotomayor	NY	1954–	2009–present (6–7 years)	—		—	Obama	Currently serving
112	Elena Kagan	MA	1960–	2010–present (5–6 years)	—		—	Obama	Currently serving

Timelines

All justices

The graphic below is a timeline depicting the progression of the justices in the United States Supreme Court. Information regarding their seat number, predecessors, successors and fellow justices, as well as their tenure on the court can be gleaned from the timeline. Additionally, the progression of presidents (with the number of justices they nominated) is shown at the top of the timeline to give a more detailed historical context. Three presidents (Taft, F. Roosevelt, and Reagan), in addition to successfully nominating several justices to the court, elevated an associate justice to chief justice. These elevations are counted as nominations, and are designated with a caret(^). Several justices began their terms on the bench after the inauguration of a new president.

This graphical representation of the progression of the High Court allows some otherwise obscure information to be easily noted. For example, Joseph Story (in the early 19th century) and Stephen Breyer (in the late 20th and early 21st centuries) are each noteworthy for serving over 11 years as the court's most junior member. Samuel Blatchford (in the 1880s) served the third longest as the court's most junior member at less than 6 years. Thomas Johnson (1790s), Robert Trimble (1820s) and Arthur Goldberg (1960s) are the only justices to leave the court while still being the court's most junior member. William Rehnquist is unique in that he is the only justice to witness all of his more senior justices leave the court, without witnessing any of his more junior justices leave the court. Hugo Black, in addition to witnessing all eight of his predecessors leave the court, saw 22 new members appointed to the court (his predecessors' eight replacements and 14 others), meaning he worked beside a record thirty justices.

Current justices

See also

Supreme Court of the United States

• List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States by court composition
• List of law schools attended by United States Supreme Court Justices
• List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States by seat
• List of United States Supreme Court Justices by time in office
• List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
• List of nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States
• Unsuccessful nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States

Other

• List of national supreme courts

Notes

1. Was later reappointed as chief justice
2. This individual was elevated from associate justice to chief justice. Unlike the inferior courts, the chief justice is separately nominated and subject to a separate confirmation process, regardless of whether or not he or she is already an associate justice.
3. Under 36 Stat. 1152, McKenna acted as chief justice from White's death on May 19, 1921 until Taft took office on July 11, 1921.
4. Under 36 Stat. 1152, Holmes acted as chief justice from Taft's departure on February 3, 1930 until Hughes took office on February 24, 1930.
5. There is some disagreement on how Moody exited office. According to the Federal Judicial Center, Moody resigned. According to the Supreme Court Historical Society, Moody retired. It turns out that the confusion comes from the fact that Moody was allowed to retire by special act of Congress in 1910 due to prolonged ill health. (Moody did not meet the minimum age and service requirements to retire without this waiver.)
6. Beginning in the 20th century, many justices who left the Court voluntarily did so by retiring as Supreme Court justices without leaving the federal judiciary altogether. Some databases refer to this as an election by the justice of senior status, although the term "senior status" is used almost exclusively with regard to judges of lower federal courts, not the Supreme Court. A "retired justice", as the status is referred to in the United States Code, is no longer a member of the Supreme Court of the United States, but remains eligible to serve by designation as a judge of a U.S. Court of Appeals or District Court (and many retired justices have indeed served in these capacities). However, because the justice ceases to be a member of the Supreme Court as of the moment of retirement, the reason for these justices' leaving the Supreme Court is given as "retirement", although the reason for the justice's later leaving the federal judiciary altogether might be a subsequent act of (full) retirement or the justice's death.
7. There is some disagreement on how William Howard Taft exited office. According to some sources, such as the Supreme Court Historical Society, Taft retired. According to others, such as the Federal Judicial Center, Taft resigned.
8. Under 36 Stat. 1152, Stone acted as chief justice from Hughes's retirement on June 30, 1941 until Stone took the oath of office as chief justice three days later.
9. Under 36 Stat. 1152, Black acted as chief justice from Stone's death on April 22, 1946 until Vinson took office on June 24, 1946.
10. Under 62 Stat. 869, Black acted as chief justice from Vinson's death on September 8, 1953, until Warren took office on October 5, 1953. The Supreme Court was not in session during this brief period.
11. In 1971, Rehnquist was appointed from Arizona,^[10] but in 1986, when elevated to chief justice, he was appointed from Virginia.^[11]
12. Under 28 U.S.C. § 3, Stevens acted as chief justice from Rehnquist's death on September 3, 2005 until Roberts took office on September 29, 2005. The Supreme Court was not in session during this brief period.

References

1. "Article III". Cornell University Law School. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
2. Mears, Bill (January 1, 2010). "Chief Justice Roberts has little to say at year's end". CNN. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
3. Barnes, Robert (January 1, 2010). "Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts opts not to ask Congress to raise judicial salaries". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
4. Rowley, James (January 13, 2014). "Federal Judges in U.S. See $25,000 More as Salary Freeze Falls". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
5. "Elena Kagan sworn in by Roberts to become 112th Supreme Court Justice". Los Angeles Times. August 7, 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
6. "About The Supreme Court". Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
7. "Supreme Court Research Guide". Georgetown Law Library. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
8. Smith, Jean Edward (July 26, 2007). "Stacking the Court". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
9. Rosen, Jeffrey (February 26, 2008). "Dems' Choices For Bench Surprisingly Slim". CBS News. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
10. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary (1971). Nominations of William H. Rehnquist and Lewis F. Powell, Jr: Hearings, Ninety-second Congress, first session, on nominations of William H. Rehnquist, of Arizona, and Lewis F. Powell, Jr., of Virginia, to be Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
11. "Executive Session" (PDF). Congressional Record. September 17, 1986. p. 23803.