Chief Justice of the United States

The Constitution mentions the Chief Justice only once, as presiding officer of the Senate when the President is tried on impeachment. Everything else about the office comes from statute and tradition. The full title, Chief Justice of the United States rather than of the Supreme Court, reflects a role that extends to the whole federal judiciary. Seventeen people have held it, from John Jay in 1789 to John Roberts, appointed in 2005. John Marshall, who served thirty-four years, did more than anyone to define it.

On the Court the Chief Justice has one vote like every other justice, but presides over oral arguments and the private conference where cases are decided, speaks first in conference, and, when in the majority, assigns who writes the opinion, the office's most important internal power. Beyond the Court, the Chief Justice chairs the Judicial Conference of the United States, which sets policy for the federal courts, oversees the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, appoints judges to special courts such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and issues an annual year-end report on the judiciary.

The Chief Justice is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate like any justice, and may be chosen from inside or outside the Court. Chief Justices have presided over three presidential impeachment trials: Salmon Chase for Andrew Johnson, William Rehnquist for Bill Clinton, and John Roberts for Donald Trump's first. Courts are commonly named for their Chief Justice, as in the Warren Court or the Roberts Court, even though the Chief cannot control the outcome of cases.