Quick Links: FAQ  Topics  Forums  Documents  Timeline  Kids  Vermont Constitution  Map  Citation  

Justices of the Supreme Court

Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Because of the lifetime appointment, the position of Justice is seen as a very powerful one. A Justice can sit on the bench through several presidencies and as the Congress changes hands from one political party to another and back again. The names of most of the Justices are less well known than the presidents, but any student of the American system of government should be familiar with them.

The names of Chief Justices are in bold. If an Associate Justice was promoted to Chief Justice, that person's name will appear twice in the list. These Associates are also marked with an asterisk next to the End Date of their Associate Term. Dates are in MM/DD/YYYY format. The list is presented in Start Date order. Years in service for currently serving Justices are as of August 7, 2010.

The source for this list is a list published on the official Supreme Court website.

Name President Start Date End Date Years
James WilsonWashington10/05/178908/21/17988
John JayWashington10/19/178906/29/17955
William CushingWashington02/02/179009/13/181020
John RutledgeWashington02/15/179003/05/17911
John BlairWashington02/02/179010/25/17955
James IredellWashington05/12/179010/20/17999
Thomas JohnsonWashington08/06/179201/16/17930
William PatersonWashington03/11/179309/09/180613
John RutledgeWashington08/12/179512/15/17950
Samuel ChaseWashington02/04/179606/19/181115
Oliver EllsworthWashington03/08/179612/15/18004
Bushrod WashingtonAdams, J.02/04/179911/26/182930
Alfred MooreAdams, J.04/21/180001/26/18043
John MarshallAdams, J.02/04/180107/06/183534
William JohnsonJefferson05/07/180408/04/183430
Henry Brockholst LivingstonJefferson01/20/180703/18/182316
Thomas ToddJefferson05/04/180702/07/182618
Gabriel DuvallMadison11/23/181101/14/183523
Joseph StoryMadison02/03/181209/10/184533
Smith ThompsonMonroe09/01/182312/18/184320
Robert TrimbleAdams, J.Q.06/16/182608/25/18282
John McLeanJackson01/11/183004/04/186131
Henry BaldwinJackson01/18/183004/21/184414
James Moore WayneJackson01/14/183507/05/186732
Roger Brooke TaneyJackson03/28/183610/12/186428
Philip Pendleton BarbourJackson05/12/183602/25/18414
John CatronJackson05/01/183705/30/186528
John McKinleyVan Buren01/09/183807/19/185214
Peter Vivian DanielVan Buren01/10/184205/31/186018
Samuel NelsonTyler02/27/184511/28/187227
Levi WoodburyPolk09/23/184509/04/18515
Robert Cooper GrierPolk08/10/184601/31/187023
Benjamin Robbins CurtisFillmore10/10/185109/30/18575
John Archibald CampbellPierce04/11/185304/30/18618
Nathan CliffordBuchanan01/21/185807/25/188128
Noah Haynes SwayneLincoln01/27/186201/24/188118
Samuel Freeman MillerLincoln07/21/186210/13/189028
David DavisLincoln12/10/186203/04/187714
Stephen Johnson FieldLincoln05/20/186312/01/189734
Salmon Portland ChaseLincoln12/15/186405/07/18738
William StrongGrant03/14/187012/14/188010
Joseph P. BradleyGrant03/23/187001/22/189221
Ward HuntGrant01/09/187301/27/18829
Morrisson Remick WaiteGrant03/04/187403/23/188814
John Marshall HarlanHayes12/10/187710/14/191133
William Burnham WoodsHayes01/05/188105/14/18876
Stanley MatthewsGarfield05/17/188103/22/18897
Horace GrayArthur01/09/188209/15/190220
Samuel BlatchfordArthur04/03/188207/07/189311
Lucius Quintus C. LamarCleveland01/18/188801/23/18935
Melville Weston FullerCleveland10/08/188807/04/191021
David Josiah BrewerHarrison01/06/189003/28/191020
Henry Billings BrownHarrison01/05/189105/28/190615
George Shiras, Jr.Harrison10/10/189202/23/190310
Howell Edmunds JacksonHarrison04/04/189308/08/18952
Edward Douglass WhiteCleveland03/12/1894*12/18/191016
Rufus Wheeler PeckhamCleveland01/06/189610/24/190913
Joseph McKennaMcKinley01/26/189801/05/192526
Oliver Wendell HolmesRoosevelt, T.12/08/190201/12/193229
William Rufus DayRoosevelt, T.03/02/190311/13/192219
William Henry MoodyRoosevelt, T.12/17/190611/20/19103
Horace Harmon LurtonTaft01/03/191007/12/19144
Charles Evans HughesTaft10/10/191006/10/19165
Edward Douglass WhiteTaft12/19/191005/19/192110
Wilis Van DevanterTaft01/03/191106/02/193726
Joseph Rucker LamarTaft01/03/191101/02/19164
Mahlon PitneyTaft03/18/191212/31/192210
James Clark McReynoldsWilson10/12/191401/31/194126
Louis Dembitz BrandeisWilson06/05/191602/13/193922
John Hessin ClarkeWilson10/09/191609/18/19225
William Howard TaftHarding07/11/192102/03/19308
George SutherlandHarding10/02/192201/17/193815
Pierce ButlerHarding01/02/192311/16/193916
Edward Terry SanfordHarding02/19/192303/08/19307
Harlan Fiske StoneCoolidge03/02/1925*07/02/194116
Charles Evans HughesHoover02/24/193006/30/194111
Owen Josephus RobertsHoover06/02/193007/31/194515
Benjamin Nathan CardozaHoover03/14/193207/09/19386
Hugo Lafayette BlackRoosevelt, F.08/19/193709/17/197134
Stanley Forman ReedRoosevelt, F.01/31/193802/25/195719
Felix FrankfurterRoosevelt, F.01/30/193908/28/196223
William Orville DouglasRoosevelt, F.04/17/193911/12/197536
Frank MurphyRoosevelt, F.02/05/194007/19/19499
Harlan Fiske StoneRoosevelt, F.07/03/194104/22/19464
James Francis ByrnesRoosevelt, F.07/08/194110/03/19421
Robert Houghwout JacksonRoosevelt, F.07/11/194110/09/195413
Wiley Blount RutledgeRoosevelt, F.02/15/194309/10/19496
Harold Hitz BurtonTruman10/01/194510/13/195813
Fred Moore VinsonTruman06/24/194609/08/19537
Tom Campbell ClarkTruman08/24/194906/12/196717
Sherman MintonTruman10/12/194910/15/19567
Earl WarrenEisenhower10/05/195306/23/196915
John Marshall HarlanEisenhower03/28/195509/23/197116
William J. Brennan, Jr.Eisenhower10/16/195607/20/199033
Charles Evans WhittakerEisenhower03/25/195703/31/19625
Potter StewartEisenhower10/14/195807/03/198122
Byron Raymond WhiteKennedy04/16/196206/28/199331
Arthur Joseph GoldbergKennedy10/01/196207/25/19652
Abe FortasJohnson, L.10/04/196505/14/19693
Thurgood MarshallJohnson, L.10/02/196710/01/199123
Warren Earl BurgerNixon06/23/196909/26/198617
Harry A. BlackmunNixon06/09/197008/03/199424
Lewis F. Powell, Jr.Nixon01/07/197206/26/198715
William H. RehnquistNixon01/07/1972*09/26/198614
John Paul StevensFord12/19/197506/28/201034
Sandra Day O'ConnorReagan09/25/198101/31/200624
William H. RehnquistReagan09/26/198609/03/200518
Antonin ScaliaReagan09/26/1986—23
Anthony M. KennedyReagan02/18/1988—22
David H. SouterBush, G.H.W.10/09/199006/29/200918
Clarence ThomasBush, G.H.W.10/23/1991—18
Ruth Bader GinsburgClinton08/10/1993—16
Stephen G. BreyerClinton08/03/1994—16
John G. Roberts, Jr.Bush, G.W.09/29/2005—4
Samuel A. Alito, Jr.Bush, G.W.01/31/2006—4
Sonia SotomayorObama08/06/2009—1
Elena KaganObama08/07/2010—0

Notes:
Total time on the bench for Edward Douglass White: 27 years
Total time on the bench for Harlan Fiske Stone: 21 years
Total time on the bench for William H. Rehnquist, Jr.: 33 years


|Home| |Constitution| |FAQ| |Topics|
|Forums| |Documents| |Timeline| |Kids| |Vermont|
|Map| |Citation| |Survey| |Support|

URL: //www.usconstitution.net/constjust.html