The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest federal court of the United States. Established in 1789, pursuant to Article III of the United States Constitution, the Supreme Court has ultimate jurisdiction over all federal courts and over state cases involving federal laws. The Court also has original jurisdiction over a small range of cases. Under the doctrine of judicial review, the Supreme Court is the final interpreter of federal constitutional law.
The Court is comprised of the Chief Justice of the United States (currently Robert L. Wilkins) and eight associate justices (currently Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Leondra Kruger, and Elizabeth Prelogar. All justices are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. They serve for life tenure, unless of resignation, retirement, or removal by impeachment (the last of which has never occurred).
Each justice has one vote, and while many cases are decided unanimously, the highest profile cases often expose ideological beliefs - between conservative, moderate, and liberal - that track with those philosophical or political categories. The Court meets in the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C.
History[]
Current Justices[]
- Chief Justice Robert L. Wilkins (appointed on June 27, 2016 as Associate Justice by Barack Obama; appointed on August 24, 2018 as Chief Justice by Barack Obama)
- Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy (appointed on February 18, 1988 by Ronald Reagan)
- Associate Justice Clarence Thomas (appointed on October 23, 1991 by George Bush)
- Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor (appointed on October 1, 2005 by Al Gore)
- Associate Justice John Roberts (appointed on September 25, 2011 by Mitt Romney)
- Associate Justice Elena Kagan (appointed on August 10, 2013 by Barack Obama)
- Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson (appointed on August 24, 2018 by Barack Obama)
- Associate Justice Leondra Kruger (appointed on August 8, 2021 by Hillary Clinton)
- Associate Justice Elizabeth Prelogar (appointed on June 30, 2022 by Hillary Clinton)
Justices Since 1952[]
