All Current Supreme Court Justices: Seniority and 6-3 Majority

The current Supreme Court justices are Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. That lineup has been unchanged since Justice Jackson joined in 2022, and it produces a six-to-three conservative majority. The nine appointments span five presidencies and nearly three and a half decades.

The Nine Justices in Order of Seniority

Seniority is the order that runs almost everything inside the building, so it is the natural way to list the Court. The Chief Justice comes first regardless of tenure; the Associate Justices follow by the date they took their seats.

John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice. Born January 27, 1955 (age 71). Harvard Law School. Previously served on the D.C. Circuit. Nominated by George W. Bush and confirmed 78–22 on September 29, 2005.¹
Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice. Born June 23, 1948 (age 77). Yale Law School. Served in the Department of Education, chaired the EEOC, and sat on the D.C. Circuit. Nominated by George H.W. Bush and confirmed 52–48 on October 15, 1991.¹
Samuel A. Alito Jr., Associate Justice. Born April 1, 1950 (age 76). Yale Law School. Previously served on the Third Circuit. Nominated by George W. Bush and confirmed 58–42 on January 31, 2006.¹
Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice. Born June 25, 1954 (age 71). Yale Law School. Served on the Southern District of New York and then the Second Circuit. Nominated by Barack Obama and confirmed 68–31 on August 6, 2009.¹
Elena Kagan, Associate Justice. Born April 28, 1960 (age 66). Harvard Law School. Never sat as a judge before her appointment; served as Dean of Harvard Law School and then U.S. Solicitor General. Nominated by Barack Obama and confirmed 63–37 on August 5, 2010.¹
Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice. Born August 29, 1967 (age 58). Harvard Law School, with a doctorate from Oxford. Previously served on the Tenth Circuit. Nominated by Donald Trump and confirmed 54–45 on April 7, 2017.¹
Brett M. Kavanaugh, Associate Justice. Born February 12, 1965 (age 61). Yale Law School. Previously served on the D.C. Circuit. Nominated by Donald Trump and confirmed 50–48 on October 6, 2018.¹
Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice. Born January 28, 1972 (age 54). Notre Dame Law School. Previously served on the Seventh Circuit. Nominated by Donald Trump and confirmed 52–48 on October 26, 2020.¹
Ketanji Brown Jackson, Associate Justice. Born September 14, 1970 (age 55). Harvard Law School. Served on the District Court for D.C. and then the D.C. Circuit. Nominated by Joe Biden and confirmed 53–47 on April 7, 2022.¹

Eight of the nine justices hold law degrees from Harvard or Yale. Barrett, from Notre Dame, is the only exception. Kagan is the only current member who had never previously sat as a judge. None of this is required. The Court’s own guidance notes that the Constitution sets no mandates on age, education, or citizenship for justices, and the Article II appointments clause simply gives the president the power to nominate justices with the Senate’s advice and consent.²³

The confirmation votes themselves show how much the process has hardened. Roberts cleared the Senate 78–22 in 2005; Kavanaugh made it through 50–48 in 2018; Jackson was confirmed 53–47 in 2022.¹

The Six-Three Conservative Majority

The current bench splits six to three. Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett are generally described as the conservative bloc, and their opinions tend to favor originalist and textualist methods of interpretation. Chief Justice Roberts often votes with that group, but he has repeatedly sided with the liberal justices in cases where he views institutional stability or a narrower ruling as the priority. That makes him the most likely deciding vote in the closest cases.

Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson make up the liberal wing. Their opinions tend to emphasize evolving societal standards, broader readings of civil rights protections, and deference to federal regulatory authority. With three votes, they cannot win a case without picking up at least two justices from the majority, so much of their most-cited work appears in dissents that lay groundwork for future arguments.

These labels are useful shorthand and no more. Justices cross ideological lines on criminal procedure, statutory interpretation, and tribal sovereignty. Barrett and Gorsuch, in particular, have broken from the conservative bloc more often than early commentary predicted.

Why Seniority Order Matters

Seniority controls the physical and procedural shape of the Court’s work. On the bench, the Chief Justice sits at the center, with the Associate Justices alternating to his right and left in descending order of tenure.⁴ In the private conferences where the justices discuss cases and take preliminary votes, the Chief Justice speaks first and frames the discussion, then each Associate Justice speaks in order from most senior to most junior.⁵ Thomas has spoken second in conference for more than three decades. Jackson always speaks last.

Opinion assignment follows the same order. When the Chief Justice votes with the majority, he decides who writes the opinion. When he is in dissent, the assignment falls to the most senior Associate Justice in the majority. The author shapes how broadly or narrowly the rule is written, which affects how lower courts apply it for years afterward.

How Long the Justices Stay

Justices hold their seats “during good Behaviour,” which in practice means for life.⁶ The framers built that protection so a justice who issues an unpopular ruling cannot be fired for it. The only path to involuntary removal is impeachment by the House and conviction by a two-thirds vote of the Senate.⁷ No Supreme Court justice has ever been removed through impeachment.

Voluntary departure is the usual way seats open up. Federal law lets a justice retire with an annuity equal to their salary once they meet a sliding scale of age and service, from age 65 with 15 years of service down to age 70 with 10 years of service.⁸ A justice can also take senior status, stepping back from regular duties while keeping the title and full pay. The timing of a retirement is often shaped by who occupies the White House.

As of mid-2026, Thomas at 77 and Alito at 76 are the oldest members of the Court. Neither has publicly signaled any plan to retire. Sotomayor, the oldest liberal justice at 71, has also said she has no plans to step down.

1
United States Senate. Supreme Court Nominations 1789-Present
2
Supreme Court of the United States. Frequently Asked Questions – General Information
3
Congress.gov. Article II Section 2 Clause 2 – Advice and Consent
4
Supreme Court Historical Society. How The Court Works – Oral Argument
5
Supreme Court Historical Society. How The Court Works – The Justices Conference
6
Congress.gov. Article III Section 1 – Overview of Good Behavior Clause
7
United States Senate. Impeachment Trial of Justice Samuel Chase 1804-05
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 US Code 371 – Retirement on Salary; Retirement in Senior Status