Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Seal of the Supreme Court of the United States

The Roberts Court since June 30, 2022, with Chief Justice John Roberts in the center

**Incumbents
Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson**
since October 23, 1991; January 31, 2006; August 8, 2009; August 7, 2010; April 10, 2017; October 6, 2018; October 27, 2020; and June 30, 2022

## Judicial branch of the United States

### Style

Justice (informal)
The Honorable (formal)
Your Honor (within the Supreme Court)

### Status

Member judge of the Supreme Court of the United States

### Appointer

The President, with advice and consent of the Senate

### First holder(s)

John Rutledge
William Cushing
James Wilson
John Blair Jr.
James Iredell

An **Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States** is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is currently eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869. The United States Constitution does not set a specific number of justices, and so the number can increase or decrease with an act passed by Congress.

Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution grants plenary power to the president to nominate, and with the advice and consent (confirmation) of the Senate, appoint justices to the Supreme Court. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution effectively grants life tenure to associate justices, and all other federal judges, which ends only when a justice dies, retires, resigns, or is removed from office by impeachment.

Each Supreme Court justice has a single vote in deciding the cases argued before it; the chief justice's vote counts no more than that of any other justice. However, the chief justice leads the discussion of the case among the justices. Furthermore, the chief justice—when in the majority—decides who writes the court's opinion. Otherwise, the senior justice in the majority assigns the writing of a decision. The chief justice also has certain administrative responsibilities that the other justices do not.

Associate justices have seniority in order of the date their respective commissions bear, although the chief justice is always considered to be the most senior justice. If two justices are commissioned on the same day, the elder is designated the senior justice of the two. Currently, the senior associate justice is Clarence Thomas. By tradition, when the justices are in conference deliberating the outcome of cases before the Supreme Court, the justices state their views in order of seniority. The senior associate justice is also tasked with carrying out the chief justice's duties when he is unable to, or if that office is vacant. Historically, associate justices were styled "Mr. Justice" in court opinions and other writings. The title was shortened to "Justice" in 1980, a year before Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female justice.

## Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States

The following is a list of Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. There are no formal numbers or names for the individual seats of associate justices, which are noted simply by number based on the date they were established. The numbering of the first four associate justices reflects the order of precedence, based upon the seniority of their commission from President George Washington, following their confirmation by the Senate. The other associate justices are ordered based on the date they assumed office.

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## References

1. ↑ https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members\_text.aspx

 Principles and terminology
 Styles
 Administrative divisions