U.S. Supreme Court

The President can also appoint a Justice directly to the Court during a Senate recess, these are called recess appointments. These appointments are still subject to confirmation by the Senate once it has reconvened.

Recess Appointments

Several nominees have declined their nominations, two of them after having been confirmed by the Senate. John Jay declined a second nomination five years after retiring as Chief Justice in 1795 in order to serve as the second Governor of New York. The first Chief Justice, Jay was a Founding Father who served in numerous offices in the then-new government of the United States before retiring from politics completely in 1801.

Nominees Who Declined to Serve

Many nominees to the Court have had their nominations for either Associate Justice or Chief Justice fail due to withdrawal, postponement, or lack of action by the Senate. If a nomination is not withdrawn by the nominating President, it will expire and thus be considered withdrawn when the Congressional term expires if no action has been taken by the Senate by that time. And while a nominee cannot be appointed without the approval of the Senate, the Senate is under no obligation to take action for any nomination.

Failed Nominees

*Nomination for Chief Justice, all other nominations for Associate Justice.

The number of Associate Justices has varied over time and is currently set at eight according to the Judiciary Act of 1869. Each Justice, including the Chief Justice, has one vote in the decision of cases. Seniority among the Associate Justices is determined by length of tenure on the Court. If the Chief Justice is unable to carry out their duties or the office is vacant, the Associate Justice with the most seniority will take over.

In addition to deciding cases argued before the Court, each Justice is responsible for emergency applications and other matters from one or more of the thirteen circuits in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  The Chief Justice, by tradition, oversees the District of Columbia Circuit and the Federal Circuit. In the past, Justices were expected to travel to their assigned circuit courts to preside over cases. This is no longer the case.

Number of Justices in U.S. History: 116.
Number of Justices Who Died in Office: 51.
Number of Justices Who Retired: 40.
Number of Justices Who Resigned: 18.
Number of Chief Justices: 17.
Longest Vacancy on the Court: 841 days between the death of Henry Baldwin on April 21, 1844 until the swearing in of Robert Cooper Grier on August 4, 1846.
Longest Vacancy on a Nine Member Court: 422 days between the death of Antonin Scalia on February 13, 2016 and the swearing in of Neil Gorsuch on April 10, 2017.
Shortest Tenure of Chief Justice: John Rutledge served 5 months and 14 days in 1795. Books @ BPL
Shortest Tenure of Associate Justice: Thomas Johnson served 4 months and 3 weeks from 1792 to 1793.  Books @ BPL
Longest Tenure of Chief Justice: John Marshall served 34 years, 5 months, and 11 days from 1801 to 1835. Books @ BPL
Longest Tenure of Associate Justice: William O. Douglas served 36 years, 7 months, and 8 days from 1939 to 1975. Books @ BPL
Oldest Appointed Chief Justice: Harlan Stone, age 68 in 1941. Served as an Associate Justice for 16 years prior. Books @ BPL
Oldest Appointed Associate Justice: Horace Lurton, age 65 in 1910.
Youngest Appointed Chief Justice: John Jay, age 44 in 1789. Books @ BPL
Youngest Appointed Associate Justice: Joseph Story, age 32 in 1811. Books @ BPL

Five Justices had their first nominations fail, and were successful with their second.

Five Chief Justices have previously served as Associate Justices prior to their appointments. Only one Associate Justice, William Cushing, has declined a nomination to Chief Justice (in 1796.) Cushing served as an Associate Justice from 1789 until his death in 1810. Abe Fortas, who served as an Associate Justice from 1965 to 1969, had his nomination for Chief Justice withdrawn in 1968.

19 Supreme Court Justices have previously argued before the court before being appointed to it, including current Chief Justice Roberts and Associate Justices Alito, Kagan, and Kavanaugh.

Cases Argued by Justices Before Joining the Court

In the history of the Court, there have been nine Associate Justices who were born in Massachusetts. The only states to produce more Justices are New York (thirteen) and Virginia (ten.)