United States Supreme Court Justices

United States Supreme Court Justices

February 19, 2006

The current Supreme Court membership is comprised of nine Supreme Court Justices. One of which is the Chief Justice and the other eight are the Associate Justices. The Justices are Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr., and Associate Justices: John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David H. Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer and Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.

Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr., was sworn into the Supreme Court on September 29, 2005 and was nominated by President George W. Bush. John Roberts, Jr., took the place of Chief Justice William Renquist after he passed away and the seat became open. His political affiliation is Republican and he has worked for the Reagan Administration and then again for the 1st Bush Administration. He went into private practice when Clinton was elected. He was nominated to the D. C. Circuit Court of appeals and confirmed in 2003. John Roberts, Jr., is the second youngest Chief Justice to be sworn onto the bench at the age of 50. He attended Harvard University and graduated a year early with honors and moved onto Harvard Law School. He is married and has two children.

Associate Justice John Paul Stevens was sworn into the Supreme Court on December 19, 1975 and was nominated by President Gerald Ford. He is the oldest member of the current court and he is the second longest serving Justice. He took the place of Associate Justice William O. Douglas who retired. Justice John Paul Stevens political affiliation is Republican but he is considered more liberal than moderate or conservative. He served in the Navy during World War II and earned a bronze star. He started his career working for a law firm and then started his own private practice. He also taught law at two different law schools and was then appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 1970. He attended the University of Chicago and after serving in the Navy he attended the Northwestern University Law School and graduated with the highest grades in the law school history. He has been married twice and has a son and three daughters from his first wife.

Associate Justice Antonin Scalia was sworn into the Supreme Court on September 26, 1986 and was nominated by President Ronald Reagan. He took the place of Associate Justice William H. Renquist when Renquist was sworn in as Chief Justice. Justice Antonin Scalias' political affiliation is Republican. Justice Antonin started his career as a commercial lawyer for a brief period. He then taught Law at The University of Virginia. After about 4 years of teaching he went into government service starting under President Nixon and then President Ford. During President Carters reign, Justice Antonin left government service to go back to teaching law. He went back into government service under President Reagans administration and was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington D.C. Justice Antonin Scalia attended Georgetown University and graduated as the Valedictorian of his class. He then went on to attend and graduate from Harvard Law School. He is married and had nine children.

Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was sworn into the Supreme Court on February 18, 1988 and was nominated by President Ronald Reagan. He took the place of Associate Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Justice Anthony M. Kennedys' political affiliation is Democrat. Justice Anthony Kennedy started his career as a lawyer for a private firm and then took over his fathers practice after his father died. His father was a prominent lobbyist and lawyer and Justice Anthony Kennedy took over his fathers practice and made it even more successful than his father had. He also worked in small capacities for Governor Ronald Reagan. Governor Reagan was so impressed with his work that he recommended Justice Kennedy to President Gerald Ford for the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit. When he joined the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit, he was the youngest federal judge at that point. President Ronald Reagan had a few people on his list to replace Justice Powell but his first two choices did not work out. Justice Anthony Kennedy attended and graduated from Stanford University and also attended and graduated from Harvard Law School. Justice Anthony Kennedy is married and has three children.

Associate Justice David H. Souter was sworn in the Supreme Court on October 9, 1990 and was nominated by the first President George Bush. He took the place of Associate Justice William J. Brennan, Jr., and his political affiliation is Republican. He started his career with a private law firm close to his hometown. He then entered public service around 1968 as an assistant attorney general of the criminal division and then a few years later he became the Attorney General for New Hampshire. He was then appointed to the Supreme Court of New Hampshire and then President George Bush appointed him to the U. S. Court of Appeals. Shortly after being appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals he was nominated and appointed to the Supreme Court. Justice David H. Souter attended and graduated from Harvard University where he won a scholarship to attend Oxford. After two years abroad he came back and attended and graduated from Harvard Law School. He remains unmarried to this day.

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas was sworn into the Supreme Court on October 23, 1991 and was nominated by the first President George Bush. He took the place of Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall. An interesting fact about Justice Clarence Thomas is that he wanted to be a priest and so he attended Seminary School but met with such racism that he left the Seminary and decided to become a lawyer and was able to get