Associate Justices of the Supreme Court

The Judiciary Act of 1869 fixed the Supreme Court at a Chief Justice and eight associate justices. Associate justices are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, which since 2017 requires only a simple majority. The Constitution sets no qualifications at all: no age, citizenship, or law degree is required, though every justice has been a lawyer. They hold office during good behavior, meaning until death, retirement, or removal by impeachment, which has never succeeded against a justice. Seniority among them is set by the date of appointment and governs seating and speaking order.

Each associate justice has one vote, writes majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions, hires four law clerks a year, and serves as circuit justice for one or more of the federal circuits, handling emergency applications from that region. The most senior associate justice in a majority assigns the opinion when the Chief Justice dissents. Justices increasingly serve long tenures, often more than a quarter century, and many retire strategically under a President of the party that appointed them.

As of mid-2026 the associate justices in order of seniority are Clarence Thomas, appointed in 1991, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, appointed in 2022. Thurgood Marshall became the first Black justice in 1967, Sandra Day O'Connor the first woman in 1981, Sotomayor the first Hispanic justice in 2009, and Jackson the first Black woman in 2022.