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The Chief Justice always ranks first, regardless of when he was appointed.
Chief Justice
John G. Roberts, Jr.........................2005
Associate Justices, by Seniority
Antonin Scalia...............................1986
Anthony Kennedy...........................1988
Clarence Thomas...........................1991
Ruth Bader Ginsberg......................1993
Stephen Breyer..............................1994
Samuel Alito..................................2006
Sonia Sotomayor............................2009
Elena Kagan..................................2010
For more information on the US Supreme Court justices, see Related Questions, below.
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What is the speaking order for US Supreme Court justices?
The Chief Justice speaks first because he (or she) presides over the Court. The other justices traditionally speak in order of seniority, or time on the Court.
How many US Supreme Court justices must agree to hear an appeal?
The US Supreme Court determines whether to hear a case according to the Rule of Four. If at least four of the nine Justices of the Supreme Court agree, they will grant certiorari and hear the case.
Do US Supreme Court justices preside over courts?
Not exactly. "Preside" means "to be in charge of," and that responsibility falls to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or, in his (or her) absence, the Senior Associate Justice (justice who has served on the court longest). All Supreme Court justices are assigned one or more Circuits over which they have responsibility for emergency orders, per federal law (18 USC § 42): "The Chief Justice of the United States and the associate justices of the Supreme Court shall from time to time be allotted as circuit justices among the circuits by order of the Supreme Court. "The Chief Justice may make such allotments in vacation. A justice may be assigned to more than one circuit, and two or more justices may be assigned to the same circuit." The justices do not preside over the Circuits, however. US District Courts typically seat only one judge per case to preside over the Court; the US Court of Appeals Circuit Courts typically provide for appellate review by a three-judge panel, with one of the three presiding over the panel.
There are 15 justices on the supreme court?
No, there are nine justices on the US Supreme Court, per the Judiciary Act of 1869.President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote draft legislation in 1937 that would have expanded the size of the Court by one new justices for each sitting justice over the age of 70.5, up to a maximum of six new justices (for a total of fifteen) in order to dilute the votes of certain older, conservative justices who ruled many of his New Deal programs unconstitutional. Congress sent the President's proposal to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where the Court-expanding provisions were quickly stripped from the bill. The remainder of the bill failed to pass a full Senate vote.For more information, see Related Questions, below.
What is a question and answer session before the US Supreme Court which allows justices to clarify legal points?
The question and answer session is part of oral argument. Each attorney is given half-an-hour (unless given leave for extra time) to present a constitutional rationale representing their clients' interest in the case. The justices may interrupt with questions (in order of seniority) at any time, which they often do. There is no official term for this portion of the argument, although attorneys may have coined some unofficial ones.
