Associate Justice Antonin Scalia became Senior Associate Justice upon Justice Stevens' retirement on June 30, 2010.
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The Chief Justice presides over US Supreme Court conferences. In his (or her) absence, the Senior Associate Justice officiates.The current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is John G. Roberts, Jr.; the new Senior Associate Justice is Antonin Scalia, who became the longest-serving justice on the sitting court upon Justice Stevens' retirement.
Justice Stevens is the Senior Associate Justice, with a tenure on the Court of more than 34 years. He occupies seat 2, which is immediately to the right of Chief Justice John Roberts, who always sits at the center of the bench (or at the head of the conference table). Other than the Chief Justice, US Supreme Court justices are always seated in order of seniority, with the senior associate sitting on the Chief Justice's right, and the next most senior associate (at this time, Justice Scalia), sitting to the Chief Justice's immediate left. The other justices alternate seats, right to left. The Junior Justice (at this time, Sonia Sotomayor) always occupies seat 9, which is farthest from the Chief Justice, on his left.
Generally, they are called Justices. The Supreme Court has one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.TitlesAs a group, members of the US Supreme Court are called justices, not judges.The head of the Court is known as the Chief Justice; his or her official title would be Chief Justice of the United States.The other eight Justices are called Associate Justices.StatusThe most recent member of the Court may also be referred to as the Junior Justice.The Justice with the most seniority may also be referred to as the Senior Justice.Neither Junior Justice nor Senior Justice are official titles, however.Addressing the CourtWhen referring to a specific person, they are addressed as Justice [last name] or Mr./Ms. Justice [last name]. The Chief Justice is called Chief Justice [last name].
The oldest man at the time he was appointed Chief Justice was Harlan Fiske Stone, who was elevated from Associate Justice in July 1941 at the age of 68. Stone had served on the Court since March 1925. He was the Senior Associate Justice at the time of his promotion.Stone was also the Chief Justice with the shortest tenure, serving fewer than five years before dying of a stroke in April 1946, at the age of 73. Stone was on the bench delivering his dissenting opinion in Girouard v. United States, 328 US 61 (1946), when struck by a massive cerebral hemorrhage, and has the distinction of being the only Supreme Court justice to die in open court.For more information, see Related Questions, below.
Yes, as of October 14, 2009, Justice Scalia is still alive and still a member of the US Supreme Court. He is the second most senior justice, and is expected succeed Justice John Paul Stevens as Senior Justice at the end of the current Term, in June 2010.