Supreme Court of the United States

US Supreme Court Building

Importance of the Court for the future of the country

“If the ... president doesn't place morally sound Christians on the bench of our highest court of this land, we might as well look for a new country to raise our children in. The Reagan and George H. Bush administrations failed us when they nominated "moderates" to the bench and the Clinton administration further disappointed us with the nomination of Judge Ginsburg. The ... presidential administration will determine the path the United States will take. Will it be path of light, or further darkness?”

-- Anthony A. Falzarano[1]

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court of the judiciary of the United States of America.

Alexander Hamilton originally described the federal judiciary as the "least dangerous branch" due to the fact that it does not have the power to enforce its rulings, or control the country's finances.[2] However, due to liberal tendencies the Supreme Court has grabbed so much power in the last half-century that it currently exceeds the authority of the other branches of government.

The Supreme Court hears and decides fewer and fewer cases: 150 per year in the mid-1900s, to only 80-90 cases in 1990s and 2000s, to only 60-70 around 2020, and then only 50-60 cases in 2022.[3]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Structure
* 3 How Cases are Heard
* 4 Opinions
* 5 Conservative and liberal votes
* 6 Current members
* 7 References
* 8 See also
* 9 Further reading

## History[edit]

Starting in 1791, the Supreme Court met in the Old City Hall building in Philadelphia. The size of the court was set at nine in the Judiciary Act of 1869. Between 1800 and 1935, it met primarily in the basement of the United States Capitol building, then in the Old Senate Chamber, until it moved into its present location at One First Street NE, Washington, D.C.

## Structure[edit]

The Constitution does not specify the number of Justices on the Court. The Judiciary Act of 1869 set the number at the current nine, consisting of eight Associate Justices and one Chief Justice. To assist them there are many clerks, guards, and staff. Historians generally divide Court history into eras named after the Chief Justice then presiding (e.g., the Rehnquist Court and the Warren Court).

The Supreme Court of the United States, 2010 Back Row (l-r):Sotomayor, Breyer, Alito, Kagan Front Row(l-r):Thomas, Scalia, Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg

Justices are appointed by the U.S. President with the advice and approval of the U.S. Senate, which means that confirmation by a vote of a simple majority of the Senate is required before one can be sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court. There is no requirement that, whenever The Chief Justice's seat is vacant, that the nominee be a member of the Court, though it is common.

A list of pending cases to be heard on their merits by the Supreme Court, also known as petitions for which certiorari has been granted, is available on its website.[4]

## How Cases are Heard[edit]

With the exception of a few cases (mainly involving disputes between states) where the Court has original jurisdiction, a party to a case from a lower court (either a Federal appellate court, or a state supreme court if the party is arguing that a United States Constitutional right was violated) must request the court to grant a writ of certiorari to hear the case.

The Court grants the writ in only about one out of every 100 petitions filed with it each year. And when granted, not all cases result in an actual court hearing: the court may grant the writ in a case similar to one where the Court did render an opinion, but then instead of a hearing will remand (return to the lower court) the case to reconsider its decision in light of the Court's opinion in the similar case (this is common if the opinion was rendered either during a term of the Court or the immediately preceding prior term).

When a case is heard, the Court hears the cases en banc (as opposed to lower level courts where a panel may hear the case). Time limits are very strict, usually only one hour (divided between the parties) is granted (though, in some exceptional cases, extra time may be granted) and the parties are frequently interrupted by a Justice asking a question or making a comment (though notably, Justice Clarence Thomas had a long period where he didn't ask a question from the bench).

## Opinions[edit]

Prior to the Marshall Court, the Court issued opinions in seriatim. This means that each Justice wrote his own opinion and delivered it from the bench. Currently, the Court issues one opinion, said to be "the opinion of the Court". Opinions tend to have the history of the case, followed by the Court's reasoning and action. Generally the opinion will be written by a member of the majority, chosen by either the Chief Justice or the most senior Justice in the majority.

When a majority of Justices agrees to the opinion, it is called the majority opinion. Occasionally, a majority of Justices agrees to the remedy, yet a minority of Justices agrees with the main opinion. This is called a plurality opinion.

Justices that disagree with the Court's action can and frequently do write dissenting opinions, which state their objections to the ruling. When a Justice agrees with an action, but not the reasoning behind it, he may write a concurring opinion, which states the reasoning he would have used. Such opinions have no bearing on the case at bar, but are often used later in time as justification for legal rulings.

## Conservative and liberal votes[edit]

How judges became more conservative (moving up) or liberal (moving down) over time. Click to enlarge.

Four of the five most conservative justices to serve on the court since 1937, out of a total of 43 justices, are on the court right now: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito The fifth was Chief Justice William Rehnquist, whom Chief Justice Roberts replaced in 2005.[5] Looking at votes in divided cases on ideologically charged issues like criminal procedure, civil rights and the First Amendment shows Justice Thomas, the most conservative justice. He voted for the conservative position in those cases 82% of the time. Justice Marshall, the only other African-American to serve on the court, was by this measure the most liberal, voting for the conservative side 21% of the time. Thankfully, Scalia maintained a hard conservative position, consistently opposing liberals and their fruitless court positions.

In ten of the last eleven appointments, the new justice was more conservative than the one replaced.

## Current members[edit]

Name | Date of Accession | Appointed by | Title | General ideology

|
|
|
|

Clarence Thomas | October 23, 1991 | George H. W. Bush | Associate Justice | conservative
Stephen Breyer | August 3, 1994 | Bill Clinton | Associate Justice | liberal
John Roberts | September 29, 2005 | George W. Bush | Chief Justice | moderate/swing
Samuel Alito | January 31, 2006 | George W. Bush | Associate Justice | conservative
Sonia Sotomayor | August 6, 2009 | Barack Obama | Associate Justice | liberal
Elena Kagan | August 7, 2010 | Barack Obama | Associate Justice | liberal
Neil Gorsuch | April 10, 2017 | Donald Trump | Associate Justice | conservative
Brett Kavanaugh | October 6, 2018 | Donald Trump | Associate Justice | conservative
Amy Coney Barrett | October 26, 2020 | Donald Trump | Associate Justice | conservative

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Anthony Falzarano (2009). "18.What the ex-gay movement must accomplished to succeed", And Such Were Some Of You! One Man's Walk Out Of The Gay Lifestyle. Xulon Press, 223\. ISBN 978-1606473863.
2. ↑ http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa78.htm Federalist #78
3. ↑ https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/supreme-court-no-decision-bad-decision-it-s-happening-too-n1295991
4. ↑ Cases pending for the 2007 term
5. ↑ see Adam Liptak, "To Nudge, Shift or Shove the Supreme Court Left," New York Times Jan. 31, 2009 Data from a 2008 study by William M. Landes, who teaches law and economics at the University of Chicago, and conservative Judge Richard A. Posner of the federal appeals court.

## See also[edit]

* Judicial activism
* State supreme court, usually the corresponding court in a state court system
* Supreme Court for supreme courts generally
* Supreme Court 2011 Term
* 28 U.S.C. § 1254(1)
* 2007 key issues
* American Trucking Ass'ns v. Scheiner
* Anderson v. Liberty Lobby

## Further reading[edit]

* Hall, Kermit L., ed. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States (2005) excerpt and text search, complete text online at many academic libraries.
* Patrick, John J. ed. The Young Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States (1994)
* Hall, Kermit L., and James W Ely Jr., eds. The Oxford Guide to United State Supreme Court Decisions (2009) excerpt and text search, complete text online at many academic libraries.
* Rehnquist, William H. The Supreme Court (2002), a popular introduction excerpt and text search
* Savage, David G. Turning Right: The Making of the Rehnquist Supreme Court (1993) excerpt and text search

The U.S. Supreme Court

Chief Justice John Jay's Court (1789–1795)
| 1789–1792  |  John Rutledge | William Cushing | James Wilson | John Blair | James Iredell

|

1792–1793  |  William Cushing | James Wilson | John Blair | James Iredell | Thomas Johnson
1793–1795  |  William Cushing | James Wilson | John Blair | James Iredell | William Paterson

Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth's Court (1796–1800)
| 1796–1798  |  William Cushing | James Wilson | James Iredell | William Paterson | Samuel Chase

|

1798–Feb 1799  |  William Cushing | James Iredell | William Paterson | Samuel Chase
Feb–Oct 1799  |  William Cushing | James Iredell | William Paterson | Samuel Chase | Bushrod Washington
Oct 1799–Apr 1800  |  William Cushing | William Paterson | Samuel Chase | Bushrod Washington
Apr–Dec 1800  |  William Cushing | William Paterson | Samuel Chase | Bushrod Washington | Alfred Moore

Chief Justice John Marshall's Court (1801–1835)
| 1801–1804  |  William Cushing | William Paterson | Samuel Chase | Bushrod Washington | Alfred Moore

|

1804–1806  |  William Cushing | William Paterson | Samuel Chase | Bushrod Washington | William Johnson
1807–1810  |  William Cushing | Samuel Chase | Bushrod Washington | William Johnson | Henry B. Livingston | Thomas Todd
1810–1811  |  Samuel Chase | Bushrod Washington | William Johnson | Henry B. Livingston | Thomas Todd
1811–1812  |  Bushrod Washington | William Johnson | Henry B. Livingston | Thomas Todd | Gabriel Duvall
1812–1823  |  Bushrod Washington | William Johnson | Henry B. Livingston | Thomas Todd | Gabriel Duvall | Joseph Story
1823–1826  |  Bushrod Washington | William Johnson | Thomas Todd | Gabriel Duvall | Joseph Story | Smith Thompson
1826–1828  |  Bushrod Washington | William Johnson | Gabriel Duvall | Joseph Story | Smith Thompson | Robert Trimble
1828–1829  |  Bushrod Washington | William Johnson | Gabriel Duvall | Joseph Story | Smith Thompson
1830–1834  |  William Johnson | Gabriel Duvall | Joseph Story | Smith Thompson | John McLean | Henry Baldwin
1835  |  Gabriel Duvall | Joseph Story | Smith Thompson | John McLean | Henry Baldwin | James M. Wayne

Chief Justice Roger B. Taney's Court (1836–1864)
| 1836–1837  |  Joseph Story | Smith Thompson | John McLean | Henry Baldwin | James M. Wayne | Philip P. Barbour

|

1837–1838  |  Joseph Story | Smith Thompson | John McLean | Henry Baldwin | James M. Wayne | Philip P. Barbour | John Catron
1838–1841  |  Joseph Story | Smith Thompson | John McLean | Henry Baldwin | James M. Wayne | Philip P. Barbour | John Catron | John McKinley
1842–1843  |  Joseph Story | Smith Thompson | John McLean | Henry Baldwin | James M. Wayne | John Catron | John McKinley | Peter V. Daniel
1843–1844  |  Joseph Story | John McLean | Henry Baldwin | James M. Wayne | John Catron | John McKinley | Peter V. Daniel
1845–1846  |  John McLean | James M. Wayne | John Catron | John McKinley | Peter V. Daniel | Samuel Nelson | Levi Woodbury
1846–1851  |  John McLean | James M. Wayne | John Catron | John McKinley | Peter V. Daniel | Samuel Nelson | Levi Woodbury | Robert C. Grier
1851–1852  |  John McLean | James M. Wayne | John Catron | John McKinley | Peter V. Daniel | Samuel Nelson | Robert C. Grier | Benjamin R. Curtis
1853–1857  |  John McLean | James M. Wayne | John Catron | Peter V. Daniel | Samuel Nelson | Robert C. Grier | Benjamin R. Curtis | John A. Campbell
1858–1860  |  John McLean | James M. Wayne | John Catron | Peter V. Daniel | Samuel Nelson | Robert C. Grier | John A. Campbell | Nathan Clifford
1860–1861  |  John McLean | James M. Wayne | John Catron | Samuel Nelson | Robert C. Grier | John A. Campbell | Nathan Clifford
1862–1863  |  James M. Wayne | John Catron | Samuel Nelson | Robert C. Grier | Nathan Clifford | Noah H. Swayne | Samuel F. Miller | David Davis
1863–1864  |  James M. Wayne | John Catron | Samuel Nelson | Robert C. Grier | Nathan Clifford | Noah H. Swayne | Samuel F. Miller | David Davis | Stephen Johnson Field

Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase's Court (1864–1873)
| 1864–1865  |  James M. Wayne | John Catron | Samuel Nelson | Robert C. Grier | Nathan Clifford | Noah H. Swayne | Samuel F. Miller | David Davis | Stephen Johnson Field

|

1865–1867  |  James M. Wayne | Samuel Nelson | Robert C. Grier | Nathan Clifford | Noah H. Swayne | Samuel F. Miller | David Davis | Stephen Johnson Field
1867–1870  |  Samuel Nelson | Robert C. Grier | Nathan Clifford | Noah H. Swayne | Samuel F. Miller | David Davis | Stephen Johnson Field
1870–1872  |  Samuel Nelson | Nathan Clifford | Noah H. Swayne | Samuel F. Miller | David Davis | Stephen Johnson Field | William Strong | Joseph P. Bradley
1873  |  Nathan Clifford | Noah H. Swayne | Samuel F. Miller | David Davis | Stephen Johnson Field | William Strong | Joseph P. Bradley | Ward Hunt

Chief Justice Morrison Waite's Court (1874–1888)
| 1874–1877  |  Nathan Clifford | Noah H. Swayne | Samuel F. Miller | David Davis | Stephen Johnson Field | William Strong | Joseph P. Bradley | Ward Hunt

|

1877–1880  |  Nathan Clifford | Noah H. Swayne | Samuel F. Miller | Stephen Johnson Field | William Strong | Joseph P. Bradley | Ward Hunt | John Harlan I
1881  |  Nathan Clifford | Samuel F. Miller | Stephen Johnson Field | Joseph P. Bradley | Ward Hunt | John Harlan I | William B. Woods | Stanley Matthews
1882–1887  |  Samuel F. Miller | Stephen Johnson Field | Joseph P. Bradley | John Harlan I | William B. Woods | Stanley Matthews | Horace Gray | Samuel Blatchford
1888  |  Samuel F. Miller | Stephen Johnson Field | Joseph P. Bradley | John Harlan I | Stanley Matthews | Horace Gray | Samuel Blatchford | Lucius Q.C. Lamar II

Chief Justice Melville Fuller's Court (1888–1910)
| 1888–1889  |  Samuel F. Miller | Stephen Johnson Field | Joseph P. Bradley | John Harlan I | Stanley Matthews | Horace Gray | Samuel Blatchford | Lucius Q.C. Lamar II

|

1890–1891  |  Stephen Johnson Field | Joseph P. Bradley | John Harlan I | Horace Gray | Samuel Blatchford | Lucius Q.C. Lamar II | David Brewer
1891–1892  |  Stephen Johnson Field | Joseph P. Bradley | John Harlan I | Horace Gray | Samuel Blatchford | Lucius Q.C. Lamar II | David Brewer | Henry B. Brown
1892–1893  |  Stephen Johnson Field | John Harlan I | Horace Gray | Samuel Blatchford | Lucius Q.C. Lamar II | David Brewer | Henry B. Brown | George Shiras, Jr.
1893  |  Stephen Johnson Field | John Harlan I | Horace Gray | Samuel Blatchford | David Brewer | Henry B. Brown | George Shiras, Jr. | Howell E. Jackson
1894–1895  |  Stephen Johnson Field | John Harlan I | Horace Gray | David Brewer | Henry B. Brown | George Shiras, Jr. | Howell E. Jackson | Edward D. White
1896–1897  |  Stephen Johnson Field | John Harlan I | Horace Gray | David Brewer | Henry B. Brown | George Shiras, Jr. | Edward D. White | Rufus W. Peckham
1898–1902  |  John Harlan I | Horace Gray | David Brewer | Henry B. Brown | George Shiras, Jr. | Edward D. White | Rufus W. Peckham | Joseph McKenna
1902–1903  |  John Harlan I | David Brewer | Henry B. Brown | George Shiras, Jr. | Edward D. White | Rufus W. Peckham | Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
1903–1906  |  John Harlan I | David Brewer | Henry B. Brown | Edward D. White | Rufus W. Peckham | Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | William R. Day
1906–1909  |  John Harlan I | David Brewer | Edward D. White | Rufus W. Peckham | Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | William R. Day | William Henry Moody
Jan–Mar 1910 |  John Harlan I | David Brewer | Edward D. White | Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | William R. Day | William Henry Moody | Horace Lurton
Mar–Jul 1910  |  John Harlan I | Edward D. White | Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | William R. Day | William Henry Moody | Horace Lurton

Chief Justice Edward D. White's Court (1910–1921)
| 1910  |  John Harlan I | Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | William R. Day | William Henry Moody | Horace Lurton | Charles Evans Hughes

|

1911  |  John Harlan I | Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | William R. Day | Horace Lurton | Charles Evans Hughes | Willis Van Devanter | Joseph Lamar
1912–1914 |  Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | William R. Day | Horace Lurton | Charles Evans Hughes | Willis Van Devanter | Joseph Lamar | Mahlon Pitney
1914–1916  |  Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | William R. Day | Charles Evans Hughes | Willis Van Devanter | Joseph Lamar | Mahlon Pitney | James McReynolds
1916–1921  |  Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | William R. Day | Willis Van Devanter | Mahlon Pitney | James McReynolds | Louis Brandeis | John H. Clarke

Chief Justice William Howard Taft's Court (1921–1930)
| 1921–1922  |  Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | William R. Day | Willis Van Devanter | Mahlon Pitney | James McReynolds | Louis Brandeis | John H. Clarke

|

1922  |  Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | William R. Day | Willis Van Devanter | Mahlon Pitney | James McReynolds | Louis Brandeis | George Sutherland
1923–1925  |  Joseph McKenna | Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | Willis Van Devanter | James McReynolds | Louis Brandeis | George Sutherland | Pierce Butler | Edward T. Sanford
1925–1930  |  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | Willis Van Devanter | James McReynolds | Louis Brandeis | George Sutherland | Pierce Butler | Edward T. Sanford | Harlan Fiske Stone

Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes's Court (1930–1941)
| Feb–Mar 1930 |  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | Willis Van Devanter | James McReynolds | Louis Brandeis | George Sutherland | Pierce Butler | Edward T. Sanford | Harlan Fiske Stone

|

Jun 1930–1932 |  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. | Willis Van Devanter | James McReynolds | Louis Brandeis | George Sutherland | Pierce Butler | Harlan Fiske Stone | Owen Roberts
1932–1937  |  Willis Van Devanter | James McReynolds | Louis Brandeis | George Sutherland | Pierce Butler | Harlan Fiske Stone | Owen Roberts | Benjamin Cardozo
1937–1938  |  James McReynolds | Louis Brandeis | George Sutherland | Pierce Butler | Harlan Fiske Stone | Owen Roberts | Benjamin Cardozo | Hugo Black
1938  |  James McReynolds | Louis Brandeis | Pierce Butler | Harlan Fiske Stone | Owen Roberts | Benjamin Cardozo | Hugo Black | Stanley Reed
1939  |  James McReynolds | Pierce Butler | Harlan Fiske Stone | Owen Roberts | Hugo Black | Stanley Reed | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas
1940–1941  |  James McReynolds | Harlan Fiske Stone | Owen Roberts | Hugo Black | Stanley Reed | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas | Frank Murphy
Feb-Jul 1941  |  Harlan Fiske Stone | Owen Roberts | Hugo Black | Stanley Reed | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas | Frank Murphy | (vacancy)

Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone's Court (1941–1946)
| 1941–1942  |  Owen Roberts | Hugo Black | Stanley Reed | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas | Frank Murphy | James Byrnes | Robert H. Jackson

|

1943–1945  |  Owen Roberts | Hugo Black | Stanley Reed | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas | Frank Murphy | Robert H. Jackson | Wiley Blount Rutledge
1945–1946  |  Hugo Black | Stanley Reed | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas | Frank Murphy | Robert H. Jackson | Wiley Blount Rutledge | Harold Hitz Burton

Chief Justice Fred Vinson's Court (1946–1953)
| 1946–1949  |  Hugo Black | Stanley Reed | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas | Frank Murphy | Robert H. Jackson | Wiley Blount Rutledge | Harold Hitz Burton

|

1949–1953  |  Hugo Black | Stanley Reed | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas | Robert H. Jackson | Harold Hitz Burton | Tom Clark | Sherman Minton

Chief Justice Earl Warren's Court (1953–1969)
| 1953–1954  |  Hugo Black | Stanley Reed | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas | Robert H. Jackson | Harold Hitz Burton | Tom Clark | Sherman Minton

|

1955–1956  |  Hugo Black | Stanley Reed | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas | Harold Hitz Burton | Tom Clark | Sherman Minton | John Harlan II
1956–1957  |  Hugo Black | Stanley Reed | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas | Harold Hitz Burton | Tom Clark | John Harlan II | William Brennan
1957–1958  |  Hugo Black | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas | Harold Hitz Burton | Tom Clark | John Harlan II | William Brennan | Charles E. Whittaker
1958–1962  |  Hugo Black | Felix Frankfurter | William O. Douglas | Tom Clark | John Harlan II | William Brennan | Charles E. Whittaker | Potter Stewart
1962–1965  |  Hugo Black | William O. Douglas | Tom Clark | John Harlan II | William Brennan | Potter Stewart | Byron White | Arthur Goldberg
1965–1967  |  Hugo Black | William O. Douglas | Tom Clark | John Harlan II | William Brennan | Potter Stewart | Byron White | Abe Fortas
1967–1969  |  Hugo Black | William O. Douglas | John Harlan II | William Brennan | Potter Stewart | Byron White | Abe Fortas | Thurgood Marshall

Chief Justice Warren Burger's Court (1969–1986)
| 1969–1970  |  Hugo Black | William O. Douglas | John Harlan II | William Brennan | Potter Stewart | Byron White | Thurgood Marshall

|

1970–1971  |  Hugo Black | William O. Douglas | John Harlan II | William Brennan | Potter Stewart | Byron White | Thurgood Marshall | Harry Blackmun
1972–1975  |  William O. Douglas | William Brennan | Potter Stewart | Byron White | Thurgood Marshall | Harry Blackmun | Lewis Powell | William Rehnquist
1975–1981  |  William Brennan | Potter Stewart | Byron White | Thurgood Marshall | Harry Blackmun | Lewis Powell | William Rehnquist | John Paul Stevens
1981–1986  |  William Brennan | Byron White | Thurgood Marshall | Harry Blackmun | Lewis Powell | William Rehnquist | John Paul Stevens | Sandra Day O'Connor

Chief Justice William Rehnquist's Court (1986-2005)
| 1986–1987  |  William Brennan | Byron White | Thurgood Marshall | Harry Blackmun | Lewis Powell | John Paul Stevens | Sandra Day O'Connor | Antonin Scalia

|

1988–1990  |  William Brennan | Byron White | Thurgood Marshall | Harry Blackmun | John Paul Stevens | Sandra Day O'Connor | Antonin Scalia | Anthony Kennedy
1990–1991  |  Byron White | Thurgood Marshall | Harry Blackmun | John Paul Stevens | Sandra Day O'Connor | Antonin Scalia | Anthony Kennedy | David Souter
1991–1993  |  Byron White | Harry Blackmun | John Paul Stevens | Sandra Day O'Connor | Antonin Scalia | Anthony Kennedy | David Souter | Clarence Thomas
1993–1994  |  Harry Blackmun | John Paul Stevens | Sandra Day O'Connor | Antonin Scalia | Anthony Kennedy | David Souter | Clarence Thomas | Ruth Bader Ginsburg
1994–2005  |  John Paul Stevens | Sandra Day O'Connor | Antonin Scalia | Anthony Kennedy | David Souter | Clarence Thomas | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Stephen Breyer

Chief Justice John Roberts's Court (2005-Present)
| 2005 - 2006  |  John Paul Stevens | Sandra Day O'Connor | Antonin Scalia | Anthony Kennedy | David Souter | Clarence Thomas | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Stephen Breyer

|

2006 - 2009  |  John Paul Stevens | Antonin Scalia | Anthony Kennedy | David Souter | Clarence Thomas | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Stephen Breyer | Samuel Alito
2009 - 2010  |  Antonin Scalia | Anthony Kennedy | David Souter | Clarence Thomas | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Stephen Breyer | Samuel Alito | Sonia Sotomayor
2010 - Present  |  Antonin Scalia | Anthony Kennedy | Clarence Thomas | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Stephen Breyer | Samuel Alito | Sonia Sotomayor | Elena Kagan