The nine Supreme Court justices are one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices who together decide which cases the Court hears and issue the rulings that become binding federal law. The number itself is set by statute, not the Constitution, and has stood at nine since 1869.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S.C. 1 – Number of Justices; Quorum Every justice, including the Chief, casts a single equal vote on cases.
The nine currently serving are:
- John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice, appointed by President George W. Bush in 2005
- Clarence Thomas, appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr., appointed by President George W. Bush in 2006
- Sonia Sotomayor, appointed by President Obama in 2009
- Elena Kagan, appointed by President Obama in 2010
- Neil M. Gorsuch, appointed by President Trump in 2017
- Brett M. Kavanaugh, appointed by President Trump in 2018
- Amy Coney Barrett, appointed by President Trump in 2020
- Ketanji Brown Jackson, appointed by President Biden in 2022
Why There Are Nine
Article III created “one supreme Court” but left its size to Congress.2Congress.gov. Constitution of the United States – Article III The Judiciary Act of 1789 started the Court at six.3Supreme Court of the United States. The Court as an Institution Congress adjusted the number several times over the next eighty years, reaching ten during the Civil War before landing on nine in 1869, one justice for each of the judicial circuits that existed then.4Federal Judicial Center. The Supreme Court of the United States and the Federal Judiciary The odd number matters in practice: it ensures every case produces a majority rather than a tie.
What the Chief Justice Does Differently
The Chief Justice presides over oral arguments and runs the Court’s administrative functions, but casts the same single vote as any Associate Justice on the outcome of a case.5Supreme Court of the United States. Justices The Chief also carries a heavier circuit assignment, covering the D.C. Circuit, the Fourth Circuit, and the Federal Circuit, while the other justices are each assigned to one or two circuits.6Supreme Court of the United States. Circuit Assignments Every justice, in the role of “circuit justice,” handles emergency requests such as stay applications coming from their assigned circuit.
How Justices Get on the Court
Article II gives the president the power to nominate justices “by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate.”7Congress.gov. Overview of Appointments Clause The president sends a name to the Senate, the Senate Judiciary Committee holds hearings and votes, and the full Senate then debates and confirms by simple majority. After confirmation, the new justice takes two oaths, one constitutional and one judicial, and can begin hearing cases.
The Constitution sets no formal qualifications. There is no age requirement, no citizenship rule, no residency test, and no requirement to hold a law degree.8Supreme Court of the United States. Frequently Asked Questions – General Information In practice, every justice in the Court’s history has been a lawyer, and modern nominees have generally served as federal appellate judges before nomination.
How Long They Serve
Justices serve “during good Behaviour,” which Article III has long been read as lifetime tenure.9Congress.gov. Overview of Good Behavior Clause There is no mandatory retirement age. A seat opens through voluntary retirement, death, or removal by impeachment.
A justice who meets certain age-and-service thresholds may retire fully or take “senior status,” which allows them to keep the office and full salary while carrying a reduced caseload.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 371 – Retirement on Salary; Retirement in Senior Status Removal requires impeachment by the House and conviction by two-thirds of the Senate. Only one justice has ever been impeached, Samuel Chase in 1804, and the Senate acquitted him.11Federal Judicial Center. Samuel Chase Impeached No justice has ever been removed.
What the Justices Actually Do
Most of the Court’s work is appellate. The justices review decisions from lower federal courts and state supreme courts rather than holding trials.12Congress.gov. Supreme Court Appellate Jurisdiction A narrow set of disputes falls under the Court’s original jurisdiction, chiefly cases between states and cases involving foreign diplomats.13Congress.gov. Supreme Court Original Jurisdiction
Choosing Cases
A party seeking review files a petition for a writ of certiorari. Under the Rule of Four, at least four justices must vote to accept a case before it gets a full hearing.14Federal Judicial Center. The Supreme Court’s Rule of Four The Court receives thousands of petitions each year and grants fewer than 100. Cases that make the cut tend to involve conflicts among federal appellate circuits or important questions about the Constitution or federal law.
Argument and Decision
When the Court takes a case, each side generally gets 30 minutes to argue. Justices are expected to have read the briefs, and reading from a prepared script at the lectern is discouraged.15Legal Information Institute. Rule 28 – Oral Argument Arguments tend to be interruption-heavy, with the justices probing weak points in the lawyers’ reasoning.
The justices then meet in private conference to vote. The senior justice in the majority assigns the majority opinion, which becomes binding law when issued. Justices who reach the same result by different reasoning may write concurrences. Those who disagree write dissents. A dissent has no legal force on its own, though dissents sometimes shape how a future Court revisits an issue.
Emergency Applications
The Court also handles a growing volume of emergency applications for stays, injunctions, and other immediate relief. These move on an expedited schedule with limited briefing and typically no oral argument. Many are resolved by unsigned orders with little explanation, though individual justices sometimes attach concurrences or dissents.
Pay and Ethics Rules
As of January 2026, the Chief Justice earns $320,700 per year and each Associate Justice earns $306,600.16Federal Judicial Center. Judicial Salaries – Supreme Court Justices Article III bars Congress from reducing a justice’s pay while they remain in office.
Federal law requires a justice to step aside from any case in which their impartiality could reasonably be questioned. Grounds include a financial interest in a party, a family relationship with someone involved, or prior work on the same matter as a lawyer or government official.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 455 – Disqualification of Justice, Judge, or Magistrate Judge Each justice decides individually whether to recuse; no other justice or outside body can force the call.
Under the Ethics in Government Act, every justice files annual financial disclosures covering income, investments, gifts, liabilities over $10,000, and real property transactions, with securities transactions over $1,000 reported within 45 days. Falsifying or failing to file can lead to civil fines up to $50,000 or criminal prosecution.18Congressional Research Service. Financial Disclosure and the Supreme Court
In November 2023, the Court adopted its first formal Code of Conduct, built around five canons covering integrity, appearance of impropriety, impartial performance of duties, limits on outside activities, and abstention from political activity.19Supreme Court of the United States. Code of Conduct for Justices of the Supreme Court The Code relies on self-policing. Unlike the lower federal courts, the Supreme Court has no independent body enforcing its ethics rules.
Could the Number Change?
Yes. Because the Constitution never fixes a number, Congress can expand or shrink the Court by ordinary legislation, and has done so seven times.20Congressional Research Service. Legislative Control over the Size of the Supreme Court The most famous attempt was President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1937 proposal to add up to six new justices, one for every sitting member over 70 who had not retired. Congress rejected it, though the pressure is credited with pushing the Court toward a more favorable posture on New Deal legislation. Modern proposals to add seats or to lock the number at nine by constitutional amendment have all stalled, but the statutory power to change the size of the bench remains.