Pursuit’s Weekly QuizCap

A total of 113 people have served on the Supreme Court since it was established in 1789. If confirmed, Brett Kavanaugh will be the 114th.

John Roberts is only the 17th person to serve as the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice. The first? John Jay.

According to the Supreme Court’s website, “Like the Associate Justices, the Chief Justice is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. There is no requirement that the Chief Justice serve as an Associate Justice, but 5 of the 17 Chief Justices have served on the Court as Associate Justices prior to becoming Chief Justice.”

The power to determine the number of Justices is up to Congress. The first Judiciary Act of 1789 set the number at six. Over the years it has fluctuated all the way up to ten, down to five. Though there have been attempts to change, most notably FDR’s court packing push in the 1930’s, there has been no change since 1869.

The Constitution says that Justices "shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour." Which basically means Justices hold office as long as they choose and can only be removed from office by impeachment. Associate Justice Samuel Chase was impeached in 1805, but was acquitted by the Senate.

In 1967, President B. Lyndon Johnson nominated Marshall to succeed retiring Associate Justice Tom C. Clark. Thomas was succeeded by the second African American Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas, who still serves on the Supreme Court today.

Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman to become a Justice in 1981 when she was appointed by Ronald Reagan. She served until 2006 and is succeeded by Associate Justice Samuel Alito.

The Constitution says nothing about qualifications for judges. Instead, it gives the president the power to appoint judges to the Supreme Court "by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate," but says nothing about qualifications.

Associate Justices make $251,800, while the Chief Justice makes $263,300. In Comparison, the President of the United States makes $400,000 and members of Congress make $174,000.

According to the Supreme Court’s website, “The Court receives approximately 7,000-8,000 petitions for a writ of certiorari each Term. The Court grants and hears oral argument in about 80 cases.”

The decision overturned a previous Supreme Court ruling, Plessy v. Ferguson, which allowed state-sponsored segregation (separate but equal). The court made a unanimous decision and famously stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."

The case arose out of the Watergate scandal where burglars broke into Democratic headquarters in the Watergate hotel. The court’s decision ordered him to deliver tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials to a federal district court. President Nixon resigned office shortly after and was given a pardon by his successor, Gerald Ford.

Split decisions uphold the lower court’s ruling. When there is a tie, the court typically issues a “per curiam decision,” instead of a majority and minority opinion.

The Senate and House are back in session, and much of the political world was focused on the Supreme Court hearing. They've got until the end of the month to pass the last of the spending bills for FY2019. Tick tock.