Current Supreme Court Justices

On the Supreme Court right now, there are eight justices currently serving. Nine is typical, but following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia and the Senate's failure to consider nominee Merrick Garland, there are only eight. This post will take a look at each of the eight justices:

Anthony Kennedy (photo courtesy of wikipedia)

Anthony Kennedy of California was nominated in 1988 to the Supreme Court by President Reagan. Justice Kennedy was born in Sacramento on July 23, 1936. He went on to attend Stanford, the London School of Economics and Harvard Law. In addition to practicing law, he taught and belonged to the California Army National Guard. He married and has three children. He was previously on the 9th Circuit of the Court of Appeals from 1975-1988. President Reagan appointed him to fill the seat of Justice Powell. Kennedy is the only justice currently serving on the court to be unanimously voted in by the Senate (97-0). He was 51 years old when appointed. Kennedy tends to be slightly conservative.

Clarence Thomas (photo courtesy of wikipedia)

Clarence Thomas of Georgia was appointed in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush. Justice Thomas was born near Savannah on June 23, 1948. He later attended Conception Seminary, Holy Cross and Yale Law. He practiced in Missouri and later served on the District of Columbia Circuit of the Court of Appeals from 1990-1991. He married twice and has a son. He was 43 years old when appointed to Thurgood Marshall's seat with a 52-48 Senate vote. Thomas is extremely conservative.

Ruth Ginsberg (photo courtesy of wikipedia)

Ruth Bader Ginsberg of New York was appointed in 1993 by President Clinton. Justice Ginsberg was born in Brooklyn on March 15, 1933. She later attended Cornell, Harvard Law and Columbia Law. She married in 1954 and has two children. In addition to teaching for 17 years, Ginsberg worked on women's rights advocacy with the ACLU. She was appointed to the District of Columbia Circuit of the Court of Appeals in 1980. Ginsberg was appointed to Byron White's seat at 60 years old with a 96-3 vote. She is fairly liberal.

Stephen Breyer (photo courtesy of wikipedia)

Stephen Breyer of Massachusetts was appointed in 1994 by President Clinton. Justice Breyer was born in San Francisco on August 15, 1938. He later attended Stanford, Magdalen, Oxford and Harvard Law. He later lectured at Harvard, the College of Law in Sydney, Australia, and at the University of Rome. From 1990-1994, he served as the chief judge on the First Circuit of the Court of Appeals. He was appointed to Harry Blackmun's seat at 55 years old with a 87-9 Senate vote. He tends to be slightly liberal.

John G. Roberts (photo courtesy of wikipedia)

John G. Roberts of Maryland was appointed in 2005 by George W. Bush as the Chief Justice. Chief Justice Roberts was born in Buffalo, New York on January 27, 1955. He later attended Harvard College and Harvard Law. He practiced law in D.C. He was appointed to the District of Columbia Circuit of the Court of Appeals in 2003 and served on it for 2 years. He married in 1996 and has two children. He was appointed to William Rehnquist's seat at 50 years old with a 78-22 Senate vote. He is fairly conservative.

Samuel Alito (photo courtesy of wikipedia)

Samuel Alito of New Jersey was appointed in 2009 by George W. Bush. Justice Alito was born in Trenton, NJ on April 1, 1950. He later worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Assistant to the Solicitor General, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey and as a professor at Seton Hall Law. In 1990 he was appointed to the 3rd Circuit of the Court of Appeals. At age 55 he was appointed to Sandra Day O'Connor's seat with a 58-42 Senate vote. He is fairly conservative.

Sonia Sotomayor (photo courtesy of wikipedia)

Sonia Sotomayor of New York was appointed in 2009 by President Obama. Justice Sotomayor was born in the Bronx on June 25, 1954. She later attended Princeton and Yale Law. She worked as an Assistant District Attorney in New York, then as a District Judge for the District Court of the Southern District of New York. She was appointed to the 2nd Circuit of the Court of Appeals in 1998 and served there until 2009. At age 55 she was appointed to David Souter's seat with a 68-31 Senate vote. She is fairly liberal.

Elena Kagan (photo courtesy of wikipedia)

Elena Kagan of Massachusetts was appointed in 2010 by President Obama. Justice Kagan was born in New York, New York on April 28, 1960. She later attended Princeton, Oxford and Harvard Law. She taught at University of Chicago Law, worked as the Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council, taught at Harvard Law and later served as Dean of Harvard Law. From 2009-2010, Kagan served as Solicitor General of the United States. She was appointed to John Paul Stevens's seat at age 50 with a 63-37 Senate vote. She is slightly liberal.

This graphic represents the ideological leanings of Supreme Court Justices over time. The current justices are listed toward the right side of the graph. (Graph courtesy of wikipedia)