Of the seventeen total Chief Justices on the Supreme Court, three were elevated (promoted) during their tenure as Associate Justice (White, Stone and Rehnquist), and two were Associate Justices who left the Court for a period of time, then returned as Chief Justices (Rutledge, Hughes).
Chief Justices who also served as Associate JusticesJohn Rutledge.................AJ 1790-1791 (Washington)................CJ 1795-1795 (Washington)
Edward Douglas White.....AJ 1894-1910 (Cleveland)...................CJ 1910-1921 (Taft)
Charles Evans Hughes......AJ 1910-1916 (Taft)...........................CJ 1930-1941 (Hoover)
Harlan F. Stone................AJ 1925-1941 (Coolidge)....................CJ 1941-1946 (F. Roosevelt)
William H. Rehnquist.........AJ 1972-1986 (Nixon).......................CJ 1986-2005 (Reagan)
Additional Notes from Another ContributorThe current Chief Justice, John Roberts, was first nominated as an Associate Justice but was re-nominated as Chief Justice, upon the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist, before his Associate Justice nomination was acted upon.President Lyndon Johnson nominated Associate Justice Abe Fortas to be Chief Justice but he withdrew from nomination due to much opposition from the opposing party.
Chat with our AI personalities
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.
Eight.28 USC § 1, enacted by Congress, states: "The Supreme Court of the United States shall consist of a Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices, any six of whom shall constitute a quorum."
The proper title is Chief Justice of the United States; however, most people refer to the office as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court because he (or she) presides over the Supreme Court of the United States (often called US Supreme Court).
The Supreme Court's ruling is final and cannot be appealed. The United States Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices.
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].