The Supreme Court of the United States: The Current Court

The Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" (majority vote) of the Senate. Once appointed, Justices effectively have life tenure, serving "during good Behaviour", which terminates only upon death, resignation, retirement, or conviction on impeachment. The Court meets in Washington, D.C. in the United States Supreme Court building. The Supreme Court is primarily an appellate court, but it has original jurisdiction over a small range of cases. The Supreme Court is sometimes informally referred to as the High Court, or by the acronym SCOTUS.¹

Presented here is biographical information for each Justice, as well as quotes, related books and other resources.

Name	Date Born	Appointed by	Service Began
John G. Roberts Chief Justice	Jan. 27, 1955	George W. Bush	Sept. 25, 2005
Antonin Scalia Associate Justice	Mar. 11, 1936	Ronald Reagan	Sept. 26, 1986
Anthony Kennedy Associate Justice	July 23, 1936	Ronald Reagan	Feb. 18, 1988
Clarence Thomas Associate Justice	June 23, 1948	George H. W. Bush	Oct. 23, 1991
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Associate Justice	Mar. 15, 1933	Bill Clinton	Aug. 10, 1993
Stephen Breyer Associate Justice	Aug. 15, 1938	Bill Clinton	Aug. 3, 1994
Samuel Alito Associate Justice	Apr. 1, 1950	George W. Bush	Jan. 31, 2006
Sonia Sotomayor Associate Justice	June 25, 1954	Barack Obama	Aug. 6, 2009
Elena Kagan Associate Justice	Apr. 28, 1960	Barak Obama	Aug. 7, 2010

Quotes About The Supreme Court

"Presidents come and go, but the Supreme Court goes on forever. ~ William Howard Taft"
"Whenever you put a man on the Supreme Court he ceases to be your friend." ~ Harry S. Truman

"The Supreme Court's only armor is the cloak of public trust; its sole ammunition, the collective hopes of our society." ~ Irving R. Kaufman

"What five members of the Supreme Court say the law is may be something vastly different from what Congress intended the law to be." ~ Benjamin F. Fairless

Noteworthy Sites

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