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No. Congress has changed the number of justices on the US Supreme Court nine times in the history of the Court. This does not include years when vacancies were unfilled, reducing the number of justices by one or more.
The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided for a 6-member Court, with a Chief Justice and 5 Associate Justices. Congress adjusted the size of the Court a number of times through the during the 19th-century.
- Judiciary Act of 1789: Court size 6
- Judiciary Act of 1801: Court size, 5
- Repeal Act of 1802: Court size, 6
- Seventh Circuit Act of 1807: Court size, 7
- Judiciary Act of 1837: Court size, 9
- Tenth Circuit Act of 1863: Court size, 10
- Judicial Circuit Act of 1866: Court size, 7
- Habeas Corpus Act of 1867: Court size, 8
- Judiciary Act of 1869: Court size, 9
After the election of President Ulysses S. Grant, Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1869, which set the Court's membership at nine. This number has remained the same ever since.
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SteveThe United States Constitution does not specify how many justices should sit on the Supreme Court. The Judiciary Act of 1789 called for six justices. Congress increased the numbers to 7, then 9 and then 10 between 1807 and 1863. In 1866 it was decided to essentially shrink the court back to 7 justices, through attrition (not replacing judges that retired or left the bench until there was seven). It dropped to eight seated justices in 1969, when the Judiciary Act of 1969 was passed. This act called for the seating of 9 justices, where it remains today.
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Have there been any lawyers who are or were US Supreme Court justices?
All 112 justices in the history of the US Supreme Court (as of 2011) have been lawyers.
How many justices are on the supreme court?
Nine Justices Nine Justices make up the current Supreme Court: one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. There have been 103 Associate Justices in the Court's history.
How many people were in the Supreme Court since 1800?
There have been a total of 111 Justices on the US Supreme Court since its inception in 1790; 99 have served since 1800.
What kind of experience do US Supreme Court nominees almost always have?
Over the past few decades, most US Supreme Court nominees have had judicial experience on one of the US Courts of Appeals Circuit Courts. This is no coincidence; most justices were appointed to the Circuit Courts for the purpose of developing appellate experience and a record of jurisprudence because they had already been identified as potential future US Supreme Court justices. The Circuit Courts have become the US Supreme Court's farm team.
How many us supreme court justices have been appointed by democratic presidents?
On the current court, four were appointed by Democrats. Clinton appointed Ginsburg and Breyer; Obama appointed Sotomayer and Kagan.
