The current Supreme Court justices are Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.1Supreme Court of the United States. About the Court – Justices Federal law has fixed the court at one chief and eight associates since 1869.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1 – Number of Justices; Quorum Their appointments span five presidencies and more than three decades.3United States Senate. Supreme Court Nominations (1789-Present)
The Nine Justices in Order of Seniority
Each justice was nominated by a president and confirmed by the Senate under Article II of the Constitution.4Congress.gov. Constitution Annotated – Article 2 Section 2 Clause 2 Seniority runs by the date each took the judicial oath, with the Chief Justice ranked first regardless of when he joined.
John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice
Nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed in 2005. Born January 27, 1955 (age 71). J.D. from Harvard Law School. Previously served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and as Principal Deputy Solicitor General. He is the 17th Chief Justice of the United States.5Supreme Court of the United States. Justices
Clarence Thomas
Nominated by President George H.W. Bush and confirmed in 1991. Born June 23, 1948 (age 77). J.D. from Yale Law School. Previously served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He is the longest-serving current justice.
Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed in 2006. Born April 1, 1950 (age 76). J.D. from Yale Law School. Previously served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey and as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Sonia Sotomayor
Nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed in 2009. Born June 25, 1954 (age 71). J.D. from Yale Law School. Previously served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Elena Kagan
Nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed in 2010. Born April 28, 1960 (age 66). J.D. from Harvard Law School. Previously served as Solicitor General of the United States. She is the only current justice who did not come to the bench from a federal appeals court.1Supreme Court of the United States. About the Court – Justices
Neil M. Gorsuch
Nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed in 2017. Born August 29, 1967 (age 58). J.D. from Harvard Law School. Previously served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Brett M. Kavanaugh
Nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed in 2018. Born February 12, 1965 (age 61). J.D. from Yale Law School. Previously served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. His confirmation vote, 50–48, was the narrowest among the current members.3United States Senate. Supreme Court Nominations (1789-Present)
Amy Coney Barrett
Nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed in 2020 by a 52–48 vote. Born January 28, 1972 (age 54). J.D. from Notre Dame Law School. Previously served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She is the only current justice who did not attend Harvard or Yale.6Supreme Court of the United States. Frequently Asked Questions – Supreme Court Justices
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed in 2022 by a 53–47 vote. Born September 14, 1970 (age 55). J.D. from Harvard Law School. Previously served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She is currently the most junior justice.
The Current Ideological Lineup
The court divides into a six-justice conservative bloc and a three-justice liberal bloc. Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett are generally considered the conservative wing. Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson make up the liberal wing. On the most contested constitutional questions, the 6–3 split has held consistently through recent terms.
Individual cases sometimes scramble those lines. Roberts and Kavanaugh have crossed over on certain high-profile cases, and Barrett has occasionally joined the liberal justices on narrower questions. Because it takes five votes to decide a case, a conservative majority can form even if one justice breaks away, while the liberal bloc needs to peel off at least two to win.
What Makes the Chief Justice Different
Roberts’s vote counts the same as any associate’s, but the position carries duties the others don’t share. He chairs the Judicial Conference of the United States, the annual gathering of federal judges that sets policy for the federal court system.7United States Courts. 28 USC 331 – Judicial Conference of the United States
The most consequential power unique to the Chief Justice involves opinion assignments. When Roberts votes with the majority, he chooses which justice writes the court’s opinion. When he dissents, that power passes to the most senior associate justice in the majority. This is where seniority genuinely matters, because the assignment shapes the reasoning of a ruling, not just the outcome.
How Seniority Shapes the Bench
Seniority determines seating, speaking order, and ceremonial duties. During oral arguments and the court’s group photo, the Chief Justice sits at center. The most senior associate sits to his right, the next most senior to his left, and so on in alternating fashion outward.8Supreme Court of the United States. The Court and Its Traditions
The same order governs the private conferences where justices discuss and vote on cases. The Chief Justice speaks first, then each associate in descending seniority. By the time Jackson, the most junior member, speaks, she already knows where every colleague stands. The junior justice also handles some traditional duties, including answering the door when someone knocks during conference and serving on the committee that oversees the court’s cafeteria. Former Justice Kagan once remarked that if she didn’t hear a knock, the other eight justices would simply stare at her until she figured it out.
Who’s Eligible to Retire
Supreme Court justices serve for life, or more precisely, “during good Behaviour,” as Article III of the Constitution puts it.9Congress.gov. Constitution Annotated – Article III Section 1 There is no mandatory retirement age. A justice leaves only by choosing to retire, by death, or through impeachment and conviction, which has never happened to a Supreme Court justice.
For 2026, the Chief Justice earns $320,700 and each Associate Justice earns $306,600.10Federal Judicial Center. Judicial Salaries – Supreme Court Justices The Constitution prohibits reducing a justice’s pay while they remain in office.
Retirement at full salary works on a sliding scale combining age and years of service. A justice who reaches 65 with 15 years of service qualifies. The required service decreases by one year for each year of age above 65, so a 70-year-old needs only 10 years.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 371 – Retirement on Salary; Retirement in Senior Status By those numbers, Thomas (age 77, 35 years of service) and Alito (age 76, 20 years) have long since qualified. Roberts (age 71, 21 years) and Sotomayor (age 71, 17 years) also qualify. Whether any of them chooses to retire, and under which president, is always a matter of political speculation.