Who Are the Current Supreme Court Members? Seniority and Pay

The current members of the Supreme Court are Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and eight 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. Together they were appointed by five different presidents across more than three decades, with Thomas the longest-serving Associate Justice and Jackson the newest arrival.¹

The Nine Justices in Order of Seniority

The Chief Justice always ranks first regardless of tenure. Among Associate Justices, seniority runs by length of continuous service on the court.²

John G. Roberts, Jr. (Chief Justice) — nominated by President George W. Bush, seated September 29, 2005.
Clarence Thomas — nominated by President George H.W. Bush, seated October 23, 1991. Thomas is the most senior Associate Justice.
Samuel A. Alito, Jr. — nominated by President George W. Bush, seated January 31, 2006.
Sonia Sotomayor — nominated by President Barack Obama, seated August 8, 2009.
Elena Kagan — nominated by President Barack Obama, seated August 7, 2010.
Neil M. Gorsuch — nominated by President Donald J. Trump, seated April 10, 2017.
Brett M. Kavanaugh — nominated by President Donald J. Trump, seated October 6, 2018.
Amy Coney Barrett — nominated by President Donald J. Trump, seated October 27, 2020.
Ketanji Brown Jackson — nominated by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., seated June 30, 2022. Jackson is the most junior justice.

Appointments by President

Five presidencies are represented on the current bench. President Trump has placed the most sitting justices, with three. Presidents Obama and George W. Bush each account for two. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Biden each account for one.¹

Three of the nine justices are women: Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett, and Jackson make four, with Justice Sotomayor the first Latina ever to serve and Justice Jackson the first Black woman. (The number of women on the current court is four, not three; counted together with Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh, the bench divides five men to four women.)

What Seniority Means on the Court

The ranking is not ceremonial. During the justices’ private conference, where cases are discussed and preliminary votes taken, the Chief Justice speaks first and the Associate Justices follow from most senior to most junior. When the Chief Justice sits in the majority on a case, he decides which justice writes the court’s opinion. When he is in dissent, that assignment power passes to the most senior justice in the majority. The result is that senior justices have outsized influence over which legal reasoning becomes the law of the land.³

Seniority also governs where each justice sits during oral argument. The Chief Justice takes the center chair, with the most senior Associate to his immediate right, the next most senior to his left, and the rest alternating outward until the two most junior justices anchor the ends of the bench.⁴

How a Justice Gets on the Court

Federal law fixes the court’s size at nine seats, so a new justice arrives only when a sitting member retires, dies, or is removed.² When a vacancy opens, the president nominates a replacement and the Senate decides whether to confirm, under the Appointments Clause of Article II.⁵

The Senate Judiciary Committee runs the first stage. It spends roughly a month gathering FBI background materials and other records before holding public hearings, where the nominee answers questions on past rulings, legal philosophy, and judicial temperament, and outside witnesses testify for and against. The committee then sends the nomination to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation, an unfavorable one, or none at all.

Confirmation on the floor takes a simple majority of senators present and voting. Until 2017, a minority could filibuster and effectively require 60 votes; the Senate eliminated the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees that year, lowering the threshold to a bare majority.

The Constitution sets no minimum age, no citizenship requirement, and no educational prerequisites for the job.⁶ A nominee does not technically need to be a lawyer or to have served as a judge. In practice, every justice in modern history has been a law school graduate, and most sat on a federal appellate court first.

Taking Office

Once the Senate confirms, the president signs a commission appointing the new justice. Before hearing a case, the justice takes two oaths: the constitutional oath required of all federal officials under 5 U.S.C. § 3331, pledging to support and defend the Constitution,⁷ and the judicial oath under 28 U.S.C. § 453, swearing to administer justice impartially.⁸ Both must be completed before the justice can take the bench.

How Long Justices Stay

Article III says federal judges hold their offices “during good Behaviour,” which has long been read as a lifetime appointment. There is no term limit and no mandatory retirement age.⁹ Most justices serve until they choose to retire or until they die in office. The design insulates the bench from election cycles.

Justices who want to step down may retire under 28 U.S.C. § 371, which uses a sliding scale of age and years of service. A justice at least 65 with 15 years of service qualifies, as does a justice who is 70 with 10 years of service, with combinations in between. Retired justices keep their full salary for life and may sit on lower federal courts if asked.¹⁰

The only way to forcibly remove a justice is impeachment by the House followed by conviction in the Senate, which takes a two-thirds vote.¹¹ Only one justice has ever been impeached. The House impeached Samuel Chase in 1804 on charges tied to partisan conduct on the bench, and the Senate acquitted him in 1805. No justice has ever been removed.¹²

What the Justices Are Paid

As of January 1, 2026, the Chief Justice earns $320,700 per year and each Associate Justice earns $306,600.¹³ Article III forbids Congress from reducing a justice’s salary during their time in office, a protection meant to keep the political branches from using pay as leverage over how cases are decided.⁹

1
Supreme Court of the United States. About the Court – Current Members
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1 – Number of Justices; Quorum
3
Supreme Court Historical Society. How the Court Works: The Justices Conference
4
Supreme Court of the United States. Supreme Court 101 – A Students Guide
5
Constitution Annotated. Constitution Annotated – Article II Section 2 Clause 2
6
Constitution Annotated. ArtII.S2.C2.3.5 Appointments of Justices to the Supreme Court
7
Supreme Court of the United States. Oaths of Office
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 453 – Oaths of Justices and Judges
9
Constitution Annotated. ArtIII.S1.10.2.3 Good Behavior Clause Doctrine
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 371 – Retirement on Salary; Retirement in Senior Status
11
Constitution Annotated. ArtI.S2.C5.1 Overview of Impeachment
12
Federal Judicial Center. Samuel Chase Impeached
13
Federal Judicial Center. Judicial Salaries – Supreme Court Justices