Current Supreme Court justices
John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States: New York
President George W. Bush nominated him as Chief Justice of the United States.
He has been serving since September 29, 2005.
Previous Positions:
- law clerk for Judge Henry J. Friendly of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- law clerk for then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Special Assistant to the Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
- Associate Counsel to President Ronald Reagan, White House Counsel’s Office
- Principal Deputy Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice
- appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice: New Jersey
President Reagan nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
He has been serving since September 26, 1986
Previous Positions:
- Professor of Law at the University of Virginia
- Professor of Law at the University of Chicago
- Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University
- Visiting Professor of Law at Stanford University
- Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Section of Administrative Law
- Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Conference of Section
- General Counsel of the Office of Telecommunications Policy
- Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States
- Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice: California
President Reagan nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
He has been serving since February 18, 1988.
Previous Positions:
- Professor of Constitutional Law at the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific
- Member of the California Army National Guard
- Member of the board of the Federal Judicial Center
- Member of the Advisory Panel on Financial Disclosure Reports
- Member of the Advisory Panel on Judicial Activities
- Member of the Committee on Pacific Territories
- Chairman of the Committee on Pacific Territories
- Appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice: Georgia
President Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
He has served since October 23, 1991.
Previous Positions:
- Assistant Attorney General of Missouri
- Attorney with the Monsanto Company
- Legislative Assistant to Senator John Danforth
- Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education
- Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1990)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice: New York
President Clinton nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
She has been serving since August 10, 1993.
- Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1959–1961).
- Research associate of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure
- Associate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure
- Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law
- Professor of Law at Columbia Law School
- Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California
- Instrumental in launching the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union
- Served as the ACLU’s General Counsel
- Served on the National Board of Directors
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1980)
Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice: California
President Clinton nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
He has served since August 3, 1994.
Previous Positions:
- Law clerk to Justice Arthur Goldberg of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Special Assistant to the Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Antitrust
- Assistant Special Prosecutor of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force
- Special Counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
- Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
- Assistant Professor, Professor of Law, and Lecturer at Harvard Law School
- Professor at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government
- Visiting Professor at the College of Law, Sydney, Australia
- Visiting Professor at the University of Rome
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (1990-1994)
- Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals (1990–1994)
- Member of the Judicial Conference of the United States
- Member of the United States Sentencing Commission
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr., Associate Justice: New Jersey
President George W. Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
He has been serving since January 31, 2006.
Previous Positions:
- Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey
- Assistant to the Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice
- Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
-U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey
- Member of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice: New York
President Barack Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
She has been serving since August 8, 2009.
Previous Positions:
- Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office
- Partner with Pavia & Harcourt
- Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office
- President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (1992-1998)
- Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1998–2009)
Elena Kagan, Associate Justice: New York
President Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
She has been serving since August 7, 2010.
Previous Positions:
- Clerk for Judge Abner Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- Clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court
- Law professor at the University of Chicago Law School
- Law professor at Harvard Law School
- Four years in the Clinton Administration, as Associate Counsel to the President
- Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
- Dean of Harvard Law School
- Solicitor General of the United States
President George W. Bush nominated him as Chief Justice of the United States.
He has been serving since September 29, 2005.
Previous Positions:
- law clerk for Judge Henry J. Friendly of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
- law clerk for then-Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Special Assistant to the Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
- Associate Counsel to President Ronald Reagan, White House Counsel’s Office
- Principal Deputy Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice
- appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice: New Jersey
President Reagan nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
He has been serving since September 26, 1986
Previous Positions:
- Professor of Law at the University of Virginia
- Professor of Law at the University of Chicago
- Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University
- Visiting Professor of Law at Stanford University
- Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Section of Administrative Law
- Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Conference of Section
- General Counsel of the Office of Telecommunications Policy
- Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States
- Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice: California
President Reagan nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
He has been serving since February 18, 1988.
Previous Positions:
- Professor of Constitutional Law at the McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific
- Member of the California Army National Guard
- Member of the board of the Federal Judicial Center
- Member of the Advisory Panel on Financial Disclosure Reports
- Member of the Advisory Panel on Judicial Activities
- Member of the Committee on Pacific Territories
- Chairman of the Committee on Pacific Territories
- Appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice: Georgia
President Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
He has served since October 23, 1991.
Previous Positions:
- Assistant Attorney General of Missouri
- Attorney with the Monsanto Company
- Legislative Assistant to Senator John Danforth
- Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education
- Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1990)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice: New York
President Clinton nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
She has been serving since August 10, 1993.
- Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1959–1961).
- Research associate of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure
- Associate director of the Columbia Law School Project on International Procedure
- Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law
- Professor of Law at Columbia Law School
- Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California
- Instrumental in launching the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union
- Served as the ACLU’s General Counsel
- Served on the National Board of Directors
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (1980)
Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice: California
President Clinton nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
He has served since August 3, 1994.
Previous Positions:
- Law clerk to Justice Arthur Goldberg of the Supreme Court of the United States
- Special Assistant to the Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Antitrust
- Assistant Special Prosecutor of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force
- Special Counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
- Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
- Assistant Professor, Professor of Law, and Lecturer at Harvard Law School
- Professor at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government
- Visiting Professor at the College of Law, Sydney, Australia
- Visiting Professor at the University of Rome
- Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (1990-1994)
- Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals (1990–1994)
- Member of the Judicial Conference of the United States
- Member of the United States Sentencing Commission
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr., Associate Justice: New Jersey
President George W. Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
He has been serving since January 31, 2006.
Previous Positions:
- Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey
- Assistant to the Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice
- Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
-U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey
- Member of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice: New York
President Barack Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
She has been serving since August 8, 2009.
Previous Positions:
- Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office
- Partner with Pavia & Harcourt
- Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office
- President George H.W. Bush nominated her to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (1992-1998)
- Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1998–2009)
Elena Kagan, Associate Justice: New York
President Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
She has been serving since August 7, 2010.
Previous Positions:
- Clerk for Judge Abner Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- Clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court
- Law professor at the University of Chicago Law School
- Law professor at Harvard Law School
- Four years in the Clinton Administration, as Associate Counsel to the President
- Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
- Dean of Harvard Law School
- Solicitor General of the United States
Key terminology
appeal: an apply to a higher court for a reversal of the decision of a lower court
defendant: an individual, institution or company sued or accused in a court of law
plaintiff: a person who brings a case against another in a court of law
bias: prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, compared with another
deny: to refuse to admit the truth or the existence of the truth
precedent: a previous legal decision or case that may be or must be followed in subsequent similar cases
brief: concise summary or statement
judicial review: review by the US Supreme Court of the constitutional validity of a legislative act
uphold: to confirm or support something that has been questioned
opinion: the believes or views of a large number or a majority of people about a particular thing
writ of certiorari: orders a lower court to deliver its record in a lower case, so that a higher court can review it
defendant: an individual, institution or company sued or accused in a court of law
plaintiff: a person who brings a case against another in a court of law
bias: prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, compared with another
deny: to refuse to admit the truth or the existence of the truth
precedent: a previous legal decision or case that may be or must be followed in subsequent similar cases
brief: concise summary or statement
judicial review: review by the US Supreme Court of the constitutional validity of a legislative act
uphold: to confirm or support something that has been questioned
opinion: the believes or views of a large number or a majority of people about a particular thing
writ of certiorari: orders a lower court to deliver its record in a lower case, so that a higher court can review it