Nine justices currently sit on the U.S. Supreme Court: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and eight Associate Justices. In order of seniority, the current Supreme Court justices are Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. All nine hold their seats for life, or until they choose to retire.
The Nine Justices Serving Now
- John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice. Born 1955. Nominated by President George W. Bush. Sworn in September 29, 2005.
- Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice. Born 1948. Nominated by President George H.W. Bush. Sworn in October 18, 1991.
- Samuel A. Alito Jr., Associate Justice. Born 1950. Nominated by President George W. Bush. Sworn in January 31, 2006.
- Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice. Born 1954. Nominated by President Barack Obama. Sworn in August 8, 2009. First Hispanic justice.
- Elena Kagan, Associate Justice. Born 1960. Nominated by President Barack Obama. Sworn in August 7, 2010.
- Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice. Born 1967. Nominated by President Donald Trump. Sworn in April 10, 2017.
- Brett M. Kavanaugh, Associate Justice. Born 1965. Nominated by President Donald Trump. Sworn in October 6, 2018.
- Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice. Born 1972. Nominated by President Donald Trump. Sworn in October 26, 2020.
- Ketanji Brown Jackson, Associate Justice. Born 1970. Nominated by President Joe Biden. Sworn in June 30, 2022. First African American woman on the court.
1Supreme Court of the United States. Current Members2Supreme Court of the United States. Oaths Taken by the Current Court
The Most Recent Change
Justice Stephen Breyer retired on June 30, 2022, and Ketanji Brown Jackson took his seat the same day. She is the newest member of the court.1Supreme Court of the United States. Current Members
Who Appointed the Current Justices
Five presidents put the current nine on the bench. George W. Bush appointed two (Roberts and Alito). Donald Trump appointed three (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett). Barack Obama appointed two (Sotomayor and Kagan). George H.W. Bush appointed Thomas, and Joe Biden appointed Jackson.
Careers Before the Court
Every current justice attended either Harvard or Yale law school. Most, but not all, served as federal appellate judges before their appointments.
Roberts clerked for then-Associate Justice William Rehnquist, served as Principal Deputy Solicitor General, spent years in private practice, and then sat on the D.C. Circuit. Thomas chaired the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and served briefly on the D.C. Circuit. Alito was a U.S. Attorney in New Jersey and spent 15 years on the Third Circuit.1Supreme Court of the United States. Current Members
Sotomayor worked as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan and sat on both the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit. Kagan never served as a judge before her appointment; she was Dean of Harvard Law School and then U.S. Solicitor General. Gorsuch earned a doctorate in legal philosophy from Oxford and served on the Tenth Circuit. Kavanaugh clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy and worked in the White House Counsel’s office before joining the D.C. Circuit. Barrett was a law professor at Notre Dame before her appointment to the Seventh Circuit. Jackson served as a federal public defender, a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, a district court judge, and briefly on the D.C. Circuit.1Supreme Court of the United States. Current Members
The Chief Justice’s Role and Everyone Else’s
Federal law fixes the court at one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices, with six members needed for a quorum.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1 – Organization of Supreme Court All nine votes count equally. What the Chief Justice does that the others do not is preside over oral arguments, lead the private conferences where the justices discuss cases, and assign the majority opinion when voting with the majority. The Chief cannot overrule anyone’s vote.
Seniority among the Associate Justices runs by the date each took the judicial oath. That ranking sets seating on the bench and the order in which justices speak during conference. The most junior justice handles some housekeeping, including answering the door when someone knocks during conference. By that measure, Jackson is the junior justice and Thomas is the senior Associate Justice.
Salaries in 2026
As of January 1, 2026, the Chief Justice earns $320,700 per year and each Associate Justice earns $306,600.4Federal Judicial Center. Judicial Salaries – Supreme Court Justices Congress sets judicial pay, and the Constitution prohibits reducing a justice’s salary while they remain in office.
How Long They Stay
Article III of the Constitution says federal judges “shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour,” which in practice means a lifetime appointment. The framers designed this to insulate the judiciary from political pressure so justices could decide cases without worrying about reelection or removal by a president who disagrees with their rulings.5Constitution Annotated. Overview of Good Behavior Clause
Justices leave the bench in one of three ways: death, voluntary retirement, or resignation. Many retired justices continue judicial work by sitting on lower federal courts, and a retired justice can also fill in when an active justice is recused from a case.
The only way to force a justice out is impeachment by the House and conviction by a two-thirds Senate vote.6United States Senate. About Impeachment That has never resulted in a removal. Justice Samuel Chase was impeached in 1804 and acquitted in 1805, and no justice has been impeached since.7Federal Judicial Center. Samuel Chase Impeached
How a New Justice Joins the Court
When a seat opens, the President nominates a replacement under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution.8Constitution Annotated. Article II Section 2 The Senate Judiciary Committee holds public hearings and votes on whether to send the nomination to the full Senate. On the floor, a simple majority confirms.
Until 2017, a minority of senators could filibuster a Supreme Court nomination, effectively requiring 60 votes to proceed. The Senate changed its rules that year to let a simple majority end debate on Supreme Court nominees.9Congress.gov. Senate Consideration of Presidential Nominations Once confirmed, a new justice takes two oaths: the constitutional oath required of all federal officers and a separate judicial oath prescribed by federal statute.10Supreme Court of the United States. Oaths of Office