
Who set the number of justices on the Supreme Court?
- Chisholm v. Georgia (1793) – overturned by the Eleventh Amendment (1795)
- Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) – overturned by the Thirteenth Amendment (1865) and the Fourteenth Amendment (1868)
- Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. ...
- Minor v. Happersett (1875) – overturned by the Nineteenth Amendment (1920)
- Breedlove v. ...
- Oregon v. ...
Which president has selected the most Supreme Court justices?
The complete numbers are:
- George Washington: 10
- John Adams: 3
- Thomas Jefferson: 3
- James Madison: 2
- James Monroe: 2
- John Quincy Adams: 1
- Andrew Jackson: 6
- Martin Van Buren: 2
- William Harrison: 0
- John Tyler: 1
Who are the nine justices of the US Supreme Court?
Nine Justices make up the current Supreme Court: one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. The Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr., is the 17th Chief Justice of the United States, and there have been 103 Associate Justices in the Court’s history.
Who approves the appointment Supreme Court justices?
- the judges of the Supreme Court;
- the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales;
- the Master of the Rolls;
- the Lord President of the Court of Session;
- the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland;
- the Lord Justice Clerk;
- the President of the Queen's Bench Division;
- the President of the Family Division;
- the Chancellor of the High Court;

How many justices were on the Supreme Court?
With the Judiciary Act of 1869 the number of justice on the court was officially set at nine by Congress, as since the court's inception it had fluctuated from being anywhere between six to ten justices.
Who signed the Judiciary Act of 1789?
After the ratification of the Constitution in 1788, the following year the Judiciary Act of 1789 was passed by the Congress and signed by President George Washington.
How does the Supreme Court process work?
The nomination process for a new Supreme Court justice begins when one either retires from the court or passes away. Thereafter, the sitting U.S. President nominates a qualified replacement. After this occurs, the Senate Judiciary Committee takes over the next part of the appointment process. This committee then vets the nominee's background, history and credentials and holds a first hearing with him or her to question them on their qualifications. The committee then votes on the nominee and the nomination is then sent to the full senate to go forward or with the recommendation that the nominee be rejected. If the nominee is rejected then the president will have to pick a new nominee and the process will start over.
What happens if the Senate confirms a nominee?
If the senate reaches that number then the nomination is confirmed and if not then the nomination fails and the process must start with a new nominee from the beginning. One the nominee is confirmed then they usually go straight to the White House to be sworn in, usually buy the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
What is the Supreme Court's decision in Marbury v. Madison?
Madison, the Supreme Court formed the basis for the practice of judicial review to decide if something violates or contradicts the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights and also defined the boundary that would separate the judicial branch from the executive branch of government.
What article of the Constitution is the Supreme Court?
The United States' Supreme Court, along with the rest of the American Federal court system, was created and outlined in the United States Constitution in Article 3.
Why is the Supreme Court important?
The United States Supreme Court is important due to its stature as the highest court in the land, and as the final judge in matters of interpreting both the Constitution and in all cases that involve the laws passed by Congress.
Who has the power to appoint Supreme Court Justices?
The Constitution also says that the president has the authority to appoint justices, who must be then confirmed by the Senate. As such, perhaps the president who appointed the most Supreme Court justices isn't very surprising.
How many people were on the Supreme Court during George Washington's term?
As the first President of the United States (under the current Constitution), George Washington was tasked with filling the Supreme Court, as History notes. During his two terms, he appointed 11 men to the court, per History, while George Washington's Mount Vernon puts that number at 10. The first full session of the newly-created Supreme Court took place on Tuesday, February 2, 1790, with John Jay serving as Chief Justice, and James Wilson, William Cushing, John Blair, John Rutledge, and James Iredell serving as Associate Justices.
How long has the Supreme Court been in office?
Since the Supreme Court was established in 1789, 115 people have served on the Court. The length of service on the Court for the 106 non-incumbent justices range s from William O. Douglas 's 36 years, 211 days to the 163-day tenure of Thomas Johnson. As of October 10, 2021, the length of service for the nine incumbent justices ranges from Clarence Thomas ' 29 years, 352 days to Amy Coney Barrett 's 348 days. Five individuals were confirmed for associate justice, and later appointed chief justice separately: John Rutledge, Edward Douglass White, Charles Evans Hughes, Harlan F. Stone, and William Rehnquist. While listed twice, each of them has been assigned only one index number. The justices of the Supreme Court are:
How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices, any six of whom constitute a quorum.
What is the Supreme Court?
v. t. e. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices, any six of whom constitute a quorum. Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution grants plenary power ...
How many members were there in the Supreme Court in 1802?
However, an 1802 act negated the effects of the 1801 act upon the Court before any such vacancy occurred, maintaining the Court's size at six members. Later legislation increased its size to seven members in 1807, to nine in 1837, and to ten in 1863.
Can a retired justice be a judge?
A retired justice, according to the United States Code, is no longer a member of the Supreme Court, 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 served in these capacities.
How many Supreme Court nominees have been on the court since 1869?
The 25 presidents since 1869 have gotten 75 nominees on the high court, meaning the average is three justices per president. So Obama falls right in the middle. Here is a list of presidents and the number of their Supreme Court nominees who made it to the court since 1869. The list is ranked from presidents with the most justices to those with ...
Who was the most recent president to have three justices?
The most recent president to get three justices on the high court was Ronald Reagan, from 1981 through 1988. In fact, one of those nominees, Justice Anthony Kennedy, was confirmed in a presidential-election year, 1988.
How did Obama get the chance to nominate three justices?
Obama was able to nominate three justices because two members of the Supreme Court retired and a third died in office.
How many Supreme Court members did Obama choose?
President Barack Obama successfully chose two members of the U.S. Supreme Court and nominated a third before his term ended in 2017. Had Obama's third nominations made it through the politically charged and sometimes lengthy nomination process, Obama would have chosen a third of the nine-member court.
Who did Obama pick to replace Scalia?
A year later, in 2010, Justice John Paul Stevens gave up his seat on the court. Obama picked Elena Kagan, a former Harvard Law School dean and solicitor general of the United States who was widely seen as a "consensus-building liberal.". In February 2016, Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly.
Who was appointed to fill Scalia's seat?
In February 2016, Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly. Obama nominated Merrick Garland, a veteran of the Department of Justice, to fill Scalia's seat. However, the Republican-majority Senate, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, refused to allow hearings on Garland's nomination, insisting that it was inappropriate to handle a Supreme Court nomination in an election year.
Who was the first Hispanic justice to retire?
The first retirement, that of Justice David Souter, came a short time after Obama took office in 2009. Obama's chose Sonia Sotomayor, who later become the first Hispanic member and third woman justice to serve on the high court. A year later, in 2010, Justice John Paul Stevens gave up his seat on the court.
Which presidents did not have a justice appointee confirmed?
William Harrison, Andrew Johnson, Zachary Taylor and Jimmy Carter are the only presidents in U.S history to not have a justice appointee confirmed to the Supreme Court.
What is the most influential decision a president can make?
WASHINGTON - One of the most influential decisions a U.S. president can make is appointing a justice to the Supreme Court.
When was Sotomayor confirmed?
Her nomination was slowed by the Republican majority in the United States Senate, but she was eventually confirmed in 1998. On the Second Circuit, Sotomayor heard appeals in more than 3,000 cases and wrote about 380 opinions. Sotomayor has taught at the New York University School of Law and Columbia Law School .
Why did Sotomayor write the opinion for United States v. Quattrone?
Frank Quattrone had been on trial on charges of obstructing investigations related to technology IPOs. Some members of the media had wanted to publish the names of the jurors deciding Quattrone's case, and a district court had issued an order to forbid the publication of the juror's names. In United States v. Quattrone, Sotomayor wrote the opinion for the Second Circuit panel striking down this order on First Amendment grounds, stating that the media should be free to publish the names of the jurors. The first trial ended in a deadlocked jury and a mistrial, and the district court ordered the media not to publish the names of jurors, even though those names had been disclosed in open court. Sotomayor held that although it was important to protect the fairness of the retrial, the district court's order was an unconstitutional prior restraint on free speech and violated the right of the press "to report freely on events that transpire in an open courtroom".
Why did Patrick Leahy object to the Sotomayor nomination?
Ranking Democratic committee member Patrick Leahy objected to Republican use of a secret hold to slow down the Sotomayor nomination, and Leahy attributed that anonymous tactic to GOP reticence about publicly opposing a female Hispanic nominee. The prior month, Leahy had triggered a procedural delay in the confirmation of fellow Second Circuit nominee Chester J. Straub —who, although advanced by Clinton and supported by Senator Moynihan, was considered much more acceptable by Republicans—in an unsuccessful effort to force earlier consideration of the Sotomayor confirmation.
What was Sotomayor's job at Cardinal Spellman?
At Cardinal Spellman, Sotomayor was on the forensics team and was elected to the student government. She graduated as valedictorian in 1972. Meanwhile, the Bronxdale Houses had fallen victim to increasing heroin use, crime, and the emergence of the Black Spades gang.
What was the significance of Sotomayor v. Silverman?
On March 30, 1995, in Silverman v. Major League Baseball Player Relations Committee, Inc., Sotomayor issued a preliminary injunction against Major League Baseball, preventing it from unilaterally implementing a new collective bargaining agreement and using replacement players. Her ruling ended the 1994 baseball strike after 232 days, the day before the new season was scheduled to begin. The Second Circuit upheld Sotomayor's decision and denied the owners' request to stay the ruling. The decision raised her profile, won her the plaudits of baseball fans, and had a lasting effect on the game. In the preparatory phase of the case, Sotomayor informed the lawyers of both sides that, "I hope none of you assumed ... that my lack of knowledge of any of the intimate details of your dispute meant I was not a baseball fan. You can't grow up in the South Bronx without knowing about baseball."

John Roberts, Chief Justice of The United States
- Robert is a conservative judge who was appointed by George W. Bushas chief justice of the court in 2005, taking his seat on September 29 that year. The New York-born judge was previously United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2003, and formerly served as an associate counsel to President Ronald Reagan and in the White House. Later, between 19…
Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice
- President George Bush nominated Thomas as an associate justice and he took his seat on October 23, 1991. The Georgia native worked as assistant secretary for civil rights, U.S. Department of Education and chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during the 1980s. Between 1990 and 1991, he served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals …
Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice
- President Bill Clintonnominated Breyer as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat on August 3, 1994. Breyer has experience serving as a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals, as well as lecturing in places such as Harvard Law School and the universities of Sydney and Rome. Breyer has announced his intention to return at the end...
Samuel A. Alito, Associate Justice
- George W. Bush nominated Alito as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat on January 31, 2006. Alito was previously appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1990. He also has previous stints working for the U.S. Department of Justice. The leaked majority opinions to strike back Roe v. Wade was written by Alito, who said it was "eg…
Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice
- Bronx-born Sotomayor attended Princeton University and Yale Law School, before going on to work as assistant district attorney for the New York County District Attorney's Office between 1979 and 1984. After going into commercial law at Pavia & Harcourt between 1984 and 1992, President George H.W. Bushnominated her to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New Yo…
Elena Kagan, Associate Justice
- Obama nominated Kagan as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on May 10, 2010. She took her seat on August 7, 2010. She has repeatedly voted in favor of abortion rights. Prior to that, she was Solicitor General of the United States and served for four years in the Clinton Administration.
Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice
- Gorsuch was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump, assuming his seat on April 10, 2017. He previously taught at the University of Colorado Law school, and on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. In his 10 year-tenure on Colorado's 10th Circuit, he never ruled on abortion rights.
Brett M. Kavanaugh, Associate Justice
- Trump nominated Kavanaugh as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, and he took his seat on October 6, 2018. He was previously Associate Counsel and then Senior Associate Counsel to President George W. Bush, and Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary for Bush. In 2006, he was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circ…
Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice
- Barrett was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was nominated by Trump as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. She took her seat on October 27, 2020. She was previously a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and before that she was a law professor at Notre Dame Law School, Indiana. Barrett has previously arguedthat abortions aren't necessary b…