The
Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the United
States and such number of Associate Justices as may be
fixed by Congress. The number of Associate Justices is
currently fixed at eight. The number of Justices on the
Supreme Court changed six times before settling at the
present total of nine in 1869. Since the formation of
the Court in 1790, there have been only 16 Chief Justices
and 97 Associate Justices, with Justices serving an average
of 15 years. Power to nominate the Justices is vested
in the President of the United States, and appointments
are made with the advice and consent of the Senate. The
Supreme Court justices are appointed for life by the
president and confirmed by a majority vote in the Senate.
Steeped
in tradition, the Supreme Court originally required formal
“mourning clothes” to be worn by all attorneys
appearing before the Court. Today, the tradition of formal
dress is followed only by Department of Justice and other
governmental lawyers, who serve as advocates for the United
States Government. White quill pens are placed on counsel
tables each day that the Court sits, as was done at the
earliest sessions of the Court. The “Conference handshake” has
been a tradition since the days of Chief Justice Fuller
in the late 19th century. He instituted the practice of
each Justice shaking hands with the other eight as a reminder
that differences of opinion on the Court did not preclude
overall harmony of purpose.
The
Term of the Supreme Court begins, by statute, on the
first Monday in October. Sittings and recesses alternate
at approximately two-week intervals. When the Court is
sitting, public sessions begin promptly at 10 a.m. and
continue until 3 p.m., with a one-hour lunch recess from
noon to 1 p.m. No public sessions are held on Thursdays
or Fridays. On Fridays during and preceding argument
weeks, the Justices meet to discuss the argued cases
and to discuss and vote on petitions for review.
With
rare exceptions, each side is allowed 30 minutes argument
and up to 24 cases may be argued at one sitting. Since
the majority of the cases involve the review of a decision
of some other court, there is no jury and no witnesses
are heard.
The
Court’s caseload has increased steadily to a current
total of more than 7,000 cases on the docket per Term.
Plenary review, with oral arguments by attorneys, is
granted in about 100 cases per Term. Formal written opinions
are delivered in 80-90 cases. Approximately 50-60 additional
cases are disposed of without granting plenary review.
The publication of a Term’s written opinions, including
concurring opinions, dissenting opinions, and orders,
approaches 5,000 pages. Some opinions are revised a dozen
or more times before they are announced.
The
Constitution does not explicitly establish any qualifications
for Justices of the Supreme Court. In fact it does not
even specify citizenship or age as it does for the executive
and legislative branches. However, Presidents normally
nominate individuals who have prior legal experience.
Typically, most nominees have judicial experience, either
at the federal or state level. Several nominees have
formerly served on federal Courts of Appeals, especially
the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit,
which is often considered a stepping stone to the Supreme
Court. Another source of Supreme Court nominees is the
federal executive branch—in particular, the Department
of Justice. Other potential nominees include members
of Congress and academics. On the current Supreme Court,
seven Justices previously served on federal courts (including
three on the D.C. Circuit); two served on state courts;
three were former law school professors; and three held
full time positions in the federal executive branch.
Nominees
to the Supreme Court, as well as to lower federal courts,
are evaluated by the American Bar Association's Standing
Committee on Federal Judiciary. The panel is composed
of fifteen federal judges (but not Supreme Court Justices),
including at least one from each federal judicial circuit.
The body assesses the nominee "solely to professional
qualifications: integrity, professional competence and
judicial temperament," and offers a rating of "well
qualified," "qualified," or "not
qualified."
The opinions of the committee bind neither the President
nor the Senate; however, they are generally taken into
account.
Each
Justice on the Supreme Court is assigned to at least
one of the United States's thirteen judicial circuits.
The Chief Justice is usually assigned to the District
of Columbia Circuit, the Federal Circuit and the Fourth
Circuit; each Associate Justice is assigned to one or
two judicial circuits.
During
Court sessions, the Justices sit according to seniority,
with the Chief Justice in the center, and the Associate
Justices on alternating sides. Therefore, the current
court sits as follows from left to right: Ginsburg, Souter,
Scalia, Stevens, Roberts, O'Connor, Kennedy, Thomas and
Breyer (who has been the junior justice for 11 years,
the third longest period in history between appointments
of an Associate Justice).
Justices
Scalia and Thomas, the court's two Originalists are generally
perceived as the Court's conservative wing. Justices
Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg and Breyer are generally perceived
as its liberal wing. Justices O'Connor and Kennedy are
considered moderates and are hence the swing votes who
often determine the outcomes of close cases. Chief Justice
Roberts is generally thought to be in between Scalia
and Thomas and the moderates, but has not been on the
bench long enough for this to be ascertained.
On
July 1, 2005, Justice O'Connor announced that she would
retire from the Supreme Court when her successor is nominated
and confirmed. President Bush nominated Judge John Roberts
to replace O'Connor on July 19, 2005; however, following
the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist on September 3,
Bush re-nominated Roberts as the new Chief Justice. The
President subsequently nominated White House Counsel
Harriet Miers to replace Justice O'Connor on October
3, 2005. Due to controversy, Miers withdrew her nomination
on October 27, 2005. On October 31, 2005, President Bush
nominated United States Court of Appeals for the Third
Circuit Judge Samuel Alito to replace Justice O'Connor.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will consider Alito's
nomination in January 2006. It has been 11 years since
anyone left the Court, and prior to September, 2005 the
nine justices had served together for a longer period
than any in the nation’s history.
