# List of United States Supreme Court justices by time in office

Longest Supreme Court tenure :
| Chief justice | Associate justice |
| John Marshall 12,570 days (1801–1835) | William O. Douglas 13,358 days (1939–1975) |
A total of 116 people have served on the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest judicial body in the United States, since it was established in 1789. Supreme Court justices have life tenure, meaning that they serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and removed from office. For the 107 non-incumbent justices, the average length of service was 6,203 days (16 years, 359 days). The longest serving justice was William O. Douglas, with a tenure of 13,358 days (36 years, 209 days). The longest serving chief justice was John Marshall, with a tenure of 12,570 days (34 years, 152 days). John Rutledge, who served on the court twice, was both the shortest serving associate justice, with a tenure of 383 days (1 year, 18 days), and the shortest serving chief justice, with a tenure of 138 days (4 months 16 days). Among the current members of the court, Clarence Thomas's tenure of 12,191 days (33 years, 137 days) is the longest, while Ketanji Brown Jackson's 983 days (2 years, 252 days) is the shortest.
The table below ranks all United States Supreme Court justices by time in office. For five individuals confirmed for associate justice, and who later served as chief justice—Charles Evans Hughes, William Rehnquist, John Rutledge, Harlan F. Stone, and Edward Douglass White—their cumulative length of service on the court is measured. The basis of the ranking is the difference between dates; if counted by number of calendar days all the figures would be one greater, with the exception of Charles Evans Hughes and John Rutledge, who would receive two days, as each served on the court twice (their service as associate justice and as chief justice was separated by a period of years off the court). The start date given for each justice is the day they took the prescribed oath of office, with the end date being the date of the justice's death, resignation, or retirement. A highlighted row indicates a justice currently serving on the court.

## Justices by time in office

| Rank | Justice | Length in days | Length in years and days | Start date | End date |
| 1 | William O. Douglas | 13,358 | 36 years, 209 days | April 17, 1939 | November 12, 1975 |
| 2 | Stephen Johnson Field | 12,614 | 34 years, 195 days | May 20, 1863 | December 1, 1897 |
| 3 | John Paul Stevens | 12,611 | 34 years, 192 days | December 19, 1975 | June 29, 2010 |
| 4 | John Marshall (CJ) | 12,570 | 34 years, 152 days | February 4, 1801 | July 6, 1835 |
| 5 | Hugo Black | 12,447 | 34 years, 29 days | August 19, 1937 | September 17, 1971 |
| 6 | John Marshall Harlan | 12,360 | 33 years, 308 days | December 10, 1877 | October 14, 1911 |
| 7 | William J. Brennan Jr. | 12,330 | 33 years, 277 days | October 16, 1956 | July 20, 1990 |
| 8 | William Rehnquist (CJ) | 12,293 | 33 years, 239 days | January 7, 1972 September 26, 1986 | September 26, 1986 September 3, 2005 |
| 9 | Joseph Story | 12,273 | 33 years, 219 days | February 3, 1812 | September 10, 1845 |
| 10 | Clarence Thomas | 12,191 | 33 years, 137 days | October 23, 1991 | Incumbent |
| 11 | James M. Wayne | 11,860 | 32 years, 172 days | January 14, 1835 | July 5, 1867 |
| 12 | John McLean | 11,711 | 32 years, 23 days | March 12, 1829 | April 4, 1861 |
| 13 | Byron White | 11,396 | 31 years, 73 days | April 16, 1962 | June 28, 1993 |
| 14 | Bushrod Washington | 11,339 | 31 years, 17 days | November 9, 1798 | November 26, 1829 |
| 15 | Anthony Kennedy | 11,121 | 30 years, 163 days | February 18, 1988 | July 31, 2018 |
| 16 | William Johnson | 11,046 | 30 years, 89 days | May 7, 1804 | August 4, 1834 |
| 17 | Antonin Scalia | 10,732 | 29 years, 140 days | September 26, 1986 | February 13, 2016 |
| 18 | Oliver Wendell Holmes | 10,627 | 29 years, 35 days | December 8, 1902 | January 12, 1932 |
| 19 | Roger B. Taney (CJ) | 10,425 | 28 years, 198 days | March 28, 1836 | October 12, 1864 |
| 20 | Samuel Freeman Miller | 10,311 | 28 years, 84 days | July 21, 1862 | October 13, 1890 |
| 21 | John Catron | 10,256 | 28 years, 29 days | May 1, 1837 | May 30, 1865 |
| 22 | Stephen Breyer | 10,193 | 27 years, 331 days | August 3, 1994 | June 30, 2022 |
| 23 | Samuel Nelson | 10,136 | 27 years, 275 days | February 27, 1845 | November 28, 1872 |
| 24 | Edward Douglass White (CJ) | 9,929 | 27 years, 68 days | March 12, 1894 December 19, 1910 | December 19, 1910 May 19, 1921 |
| 25 | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | 9,901 | 27 years, 39 days | August 10, 1993 | September 18, 2020 |
| 26 | Joseph McKenna | 9,840 | 26 years, 345 days | January 26, 1898 | January 5, 1925 |
| 27 | Willis Van Devanter | 9,647 | 26 years, 150 days | January 3, 1911 | June 2, 1937 |
| 28 | James Clark McReynolds | 9,608 | 26 years, 111 days | October 12, 1914 | January 31, 1941 |
| 29 | Sandra Day O'Connor | 8,894 | 24 years, 128 days | September 25, 1981 | January 31, 2006 |
| 30 | Harry Blackmun | 8,821 | 24 years, 55 days | June 9, 1970 | August 3, 1994 |
| 31 | Thurgood Marshall | 8,765 | 23 years, 364 days | October 2, 1967 | October 1, 1991 |
| 32 | Felix Frankfurter | 8,611 | 23 years, 210 days | January 30, 1939 | August 28, 1962 |
| 33 | Nathan Clifford | 8,586 | 23 years, 185 days | January 21, 1858 | July 25, 1881 |
| 34 | Robert Cooper Grier | 8,575 | 23 years, 174 days | August 10, 1846 | January 31, 1870 |
| 35 | Gabriel Duvall | 8,453 | 23 years, 52 days | November 23, 1811 | January 14, 1835 |
| 36 | Potter Stewart | 8,298 | 22 years, 262 days | October 14, 1958 | July 3, 1981 |
| 37 | Louis Brandeis | 8,288 | 22 years, 253 days | June 5, 1916 | February 13, 1939 |
| 38 | Joseph P. Bradley | 7,975 | 21 years, 305 days | March 23, 1870 | January 22, 1892 |
| 39 | Melville Fuller (CJ) | 7,938 | 21 years, 269 days | October 8, 1888 | July 4, 1910 |
| 40 | Harlan F. Stone (CJ) | 7,721 | 21 years, 51 days | March 2, 1925 July 3, 1941 | July 2, 1941 April 22, 1946 |
| 41 | Horace Gray | 7,553 | 20 years, 249 days | January 9, 1882 | September 15, 1902 |
| 42 | William Cushing | 7,527 | 20 years, 223 days | February 2, 1790 | September 13, 1810 |
| 43 | Smith Thompson | 7,413 | 20 years, 108 days | September 1, 1823 | December 18, 1843 |
| 44 | David J. Brewer | 7,385 | 20 years, 81 days | January 6, 1890 | March 28, 1910 |
| 45 | William R. Day | 7,196 | 19 years, 256 days | March 2, 1903 | November 13, 1922 |
| 46 | John Roberts (CJ) | 7,101 | 19 years, 161 days | September 29, 2005 | Incumbent |
| 47 | Samuel Alito | 6,977 | 19 years, 37 days | January 31, 2006 | Incumbent |
| 48 | Stanley Forman Reed | 6,965 | 19 years, 25 days | January 31, 1938 | February 25, 1957 |
| 49 | Noah Haynes Swayne | 6,937 | 18 years, 363 days | January 27, 1862 | January 24, 1881 |
| 50 | Thomas Todd | 6,854 | 18 years, 279 days | May 4, 1807 | February 7, 1826 |
| 51 | David Souter | 6,838 | 18 years, 263 days | October 9, 1990 | June 29, 2009 |
| 52 | Peter V. Daniel | 6,716 | 18 years, 142 days | January 10, 1842 | May 31, 1860 |
| 53 | Tom C. Clark | 6,501 | 17 years, 292 days | August 24, 1949 | June 12, 1967 |
| 54 | Warren E. Burger (CJ) | 6,304 | 17 years, 95 days | June 23, 1969 | September 26, 1986 |
| 55 | Charles Evans Hughes (CJ) | 6,214 | 17 years, 5 days | October 10, 1910 February 24, 1930 | June 10, 1916 June 30, 1941 |
| 56 | Pierce Butler | 6,162 | 16 years, 318 days | January 2, 1923 | November 16, 1939 |
| 57 | John Marshall Harlan II | 6,023 | 16 years, 179 days | March 28, 1955 | September 23, 1971 |
| 58 | Henry Brockholst Livingston | 5,901 | 16 years, 57 days | January 20, 1807 | March 18, 1823 |
| 59 | Earl Warren (CJ) | 5,740 | 15 years, 261 days | October 5, 1953 | June 23, 1969 |
| 60 | Sonia Sotomayor | 5,692 | 15 years, 213 days | August 8, 2009 | Incumbent |
| 61 | Lewis Franklin Powell | 5,649 | 15 years, 170 days | January 7, 1972 | June 26, 1987 |
| 62 | Henry Billings Brown | 5,621 | 15 years, 143 days | January 5, 1891 | May 28, 1906 |
| 63 | Samuel Chase | 5,613 | 15 years, 135 days | February 4, 1796 | June 19, 1811 |
| 64 | George Sutherland | 5,586 | 15 years, 107 days | October 2, 1922 | January 17, 1938 |
| 65 | Owen Roberts | 5,538 | 15 years, 59 days | June 2, 1930 | July 31, 1945 |
| 66 | Elena Kagan | 5,328 | 14 years, 214 days | August 7, 2010 | Incumbent |
| 67 | John McKinley | 5,305 | 14 years, 192 days | January 9, 1838 | July 19, 1852 |
| 68 | Henry Baldwin | 5,207 | 14 years, 94 days | January 18, 1830 | April 21, 1844 |
| 69 | David Davis | 5,198 | 14 years, 84 days | December 10, 1862 | March 4, 1877 |
| 70 | Morrison Waite (CJ) | 5,133 | 14 years, 19 days | March 4, 1874 | March 23, 1888 |
| 71 | Rufus W. Peckham | 5,039 | 13 years, 291 days | January 6, 1896 | October 24, 1909 |
| 72 | William Paterson | 4,929 | 13 years, 182 days | March 11, 1793 | September 9, 1806 |
| 73 | Robert H. Jackson | 4,838 | 13 years, 90 days | July 11, 1941 | October 9, 1954 |
| 74 | Harold H. Burton | 4,760 | 13 years, 12 days | October 1, 1945 | October 13, 1958 |
| 75 | Samuel Blatchford | 4,113 | 11 years, 95 days | April 3, 1882 | July 7, 1893 |
| 76 | Mahlon Pitney | 3,940 | 10 years, 288 days | March 18, 1912 | December 31, 1922 |
| 77 | William Strong | 3,928 | 10 years, 275 days | March 14, 1870 | December 14, 1880 |
| 78 | George Shiras Jr. | 3,787 | 10 years, 136 days | October 10, 1892 | February 23, 1903 |
| 79 | Frank Murphy | 3,452 | 9 years, 164 days | February 5, 1940 | July 19, 1949 |
| 80 | James Iredell | 3,448 | 9 years, 161 days | May 12, 1790 | October 20, 1799 |
| 81 | Ward Hunt | 3,305 | 9 years, 18 days | January 9, 1873 | January 27, 1882 |
| 82 | James Wilson | 3,242 | 8 years, 320 days | October 5, 1789 | August 21, 1798 |
| 83 | William Howard Taft (CJ) | 3,129 | 8 years, 207 days | July 11, 1921 | February 3, 1930 |
| 84 | Salmon P. Chase (CJ) | 3,065 | 8 years, 143 days | December 15, 1864 | May 7, 1873 |
| 85 | John Archibald Campbell | 2,941 | 8 years, 19 days | April 11, 1853 | April 30, 1861 |
| 86 | Neil Gorsuch | 2,890 | 7 years, 333 days | April 10, 2017 | Incumbent |
| 87 | Stanley Matthews | 2,866 | 7 years, 309 days | May 17, 1881 | March 22, 1889 |
| 88 | Fred M. Vinson (CJ) | 2,633 | 7 years, 76 days | June 24, 1946 | September 8, 1953 |
| 89 | Edward Terry Sanford | 2,574 | 7 years, 17 days | February 19, 1923 | March 8, 1930 |
| 90 | Sherman Minton | 2,560 | 7 years, 3 days | October 12, 1949 | October 15, 1956 |
| 91 | Wiley Rutledge | 2,399 | 6 years, 207 days | February 15, 1943 | September 10, 1949 |
| 92 | Brett Kavanaugh | 2,346 | 6 years, 154 days | October 6, 2018 | Incumbent |
| 93 | William Burnham Woods | 2,320 | 6 years, 129 days | January 5, 1881 | May 14, 1887 |
| 94 | Benjamin N. Cardozo | 2,308 | 6 years, 117 days | March 14, 1932 | July 9, 1938 |
| 95 | Benjamin Robbins Curtis | 2,182 | 5 years, 355 days | October 10, 1851 | September 30, 1857 |
| 96 | Levi Woodbury | 2,172 | 5 years, 346 days | September 23, 1845 | September 4, 1851 |
| 97 | John Hessin Clarke | 2,170 | 5 years, 344 days | October 9, 1916 | September 18, 1922 |
| 98 | John Blair | 2,091 | 5 years, 265 days | February 2, 1790 | October 25, 1795 |
| 99 | John Jay (CJ) | 2,079 | 5 years, 253 days | October 19, 1789 | June 29, 1795 |
| 100 (tie) | Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar | 1,832 | 5 years, 5 days | January 18, 1888 | January 23, 1893 |
| 100 (tie) | Charles Evans Whittaker | 1,832 | 5 years, 6 days | March 25, 1957 | March 31, 1962 |
| 102 | Joseph Rucker Lamar | 1,825 | 4 years, 364 days | January 3, 1911 | January 2, 1916 |
| 103 | Philip P. Barbour | 1,750 | 4 years, 289 days | May 12, 1836 | February 25, 1841 |
| 104 | Oliver Ellsworth (CJ) | 1,742 | 4 years, 282 days | March 8, 1796 | December 15, 1800 |
| 105 | Horace Harmon Lurton | 1,651 | 4 years, 190 days | January 3, 1910 | July 12, 1914 |
| 106 | Amy Coney Barrett | 1,594 | 4 years, 133 days | October 27, 2020 | Incumbent |
| 107 | William Henry Moody | 1,434 | 3 years, 338 days | December 17, 1906 | November 20, 1910 |
| 108 | Alfred Moore | 1,375 | 3 years, 280 days | April 21, 1800 | January 26, 1804 |
| 109 | Abe Fortas | 1,318 | 3 years, 222 days | October 4, 1965 | May 14, 1969 |
| 110 | Arthur Goldberg | 1,028 | 2 years, 297 days | October 1, 1962 | July 25, 1965 |
| 111 | Ketanji Brown Jackson | 983 | 2 years, 252 days | June 30, 2022 | Incumbent |
| 112 | Howell E. Jackson | 887 | 2 years, 157 days | March 4, 1893 | August 8, 1895 |
| 113 | Robert Trimble | 801 | 2 years, 70 days | June 16, 1826 | August 25, 1828 |
| 114 | John Rutledge (CJ) | 521 | 1 year, 156 days | February 15, 1790 August 12, 1795 | March 5, 1791 December 28, 1795 |
| 115 | Thomas Johnson | 485 | 1 year, 119 days | September 19, 1791 | January 16, 1793 |
| 116 | James F. Byrnes | 452 | 1 year, 87 days | July 8, 1941 | October 3, 1942 |