A Current Look at the Supreme Court
An in-depth look at each justice’s history before, and on, the Roberts Court.
(Top Row: Brett Kavanaugh, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett
Bottom Row: Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor)
John Roberts:
Born in Buffalo, New York in 1955
Attended Harvard college (1973-1976) and graduated summa cum laude. Later attended Harvard Law School in 1979, and earned a J.D.
Originally wanted to be a history major
Law clerk for William Rehnquist in 1980 Supreme Court term
Appointed as Associate Counsel to Ronald Reagan from 1986-1989
Principal Solicitor General from 1989-1993
In 2003, he was appointed by George W. Bush to the D.C. court of appeals
Appointed in 2005 by George Bush to the Supreme Court
Replaced Chief Justice William Rehnquist after his death
Confirmed 78-22 as Chief Justice, a title which allows him to choose who writes the majority opinion
Upheld congress’ ability to ban certain types of abortions (Gonzalez V. Carhartt)
Forced colleges that use federal funding to allow military recruiters on campus (Rumsfeld V. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights)
Overturned school’s ability to use race as a factor in admissions (Parents Involved in Community Schools V. Seattle School District No. 1)
Upheld tax credits in Affordable Care Act (King V. Burwell)
Dissented against same-sex marriage being a fundamental right (Obergdefell V. Hodges)
Clarence Thomas:
Born in Savannah, Georgia in 1948
Graduated from College of the Holy Cross in 1971 and later received J.D. from Yale in 1974
Originally wanted to become a priest
One of the first black students at Yale college
Attorney General for Missouri 1974-1977
Worked for senator John Danforth as legislative assistant
Appointed to equal employment opportunity commission in 1978 by Ronald Reagan
Appointed to D.C. Court of appeals 190-1991 by George H.W. Bush
George H.W. Bush nominated him in 1991 to the Supreme Court
Replaced Thurgood Marshall after his death
Confirmed by senate 52-48 even after sexual assault allegations
Rarely speaks in oral arguments
2nd black Supreme Court justice
Contributed to Antonin Scalia’s District of Columbia V Heller opinion, a personal gun control case for self defense
Contributed to Anthony Kennedy’s Citizens United V. FEC opinion, a campaign finance case
Majority opinion that a public school violated the 1st amendment by refusing religious clubs to meet on campus (Good News Club V. Milford Central School)
Dissented in Gonzalez V. Raich, a case deciding that congress could regulate weed using the commerce clause, even if a state law legalized personal use
Stephen Breyer:
Born in San Francisco, California in 1938.
Attended Stanford, went to Oxford on a Marshall Scholarship, and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard
Was a law clerk for supreme court justice Arthur Goldberg in the 1964 term
Assistant professor at Harvard in 1967
Joined Watergate Prosecution Force against President Nixon in 1973
Special Counsel for Senate Judiciary Committee from 1974-1975
Appointed to 1st circuit of the Court of Appeals by Jimmy Carter from 1980-1990.
Chief justice of 1st circuit of Court of Appeals from 1990-1994
Appointed to the Supreme Court by Bill Clinton in 1994
Replaced the retiring Henry Blackmun
Was confirmed 87-9
Ruled that a law banning partial birth abortions was unconstitutional because it interfered with women’s rights (Stenberg V. Carhart)
Dissented in lethal injection case, as he saw the death penalty as unconstitutional (Glossip V. Gross)
Samuel Alito:
Born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1950
Graduated from Princeton School of Public and International Affairs in 1972, and graduated from Yale Law School 3 years later
Was involved in politics from a young age, pushed by the discrimination he experienced as a son of immigrants
Law clerk for Leonard Garth, a justice on the Court of Appeals
Assistant for Solicitor General of New Jersey
Appointed to 3rd circuit of the court of appeals by George H.W. Bush in 1990
Appointed to the Supreme Court by George Bush in 2006
Replaced the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor
Confirmed 58-42
Argued that emotional distress caused by a church picketing a gay military soldier’s funeral, should have overidden their 1st amendment rights. (Dissent in Snyder V. Phelps)
Majority opinion that corporations can be exempt from laws requiring contraception to be provided to female employees based on religious beliefs. (Burwell V. Hobby Lobby)
Sonia Sotomayor:
Born in the Bronx, New York in 1954
Attended Princeton University and in 1976 graduated Summa Cum Laude. Graduated from Yale Law School in 1979
As a kid, she wanted to be a detective “like Nancy Drew”
Raised by her mother after her father’s death
Valedictorian of high school class
District Attorney for New York from 1979-1984
Joined Pavia and Harcourt firm, based around business and corporate law
George H.W Bush nominated her to U.S. district court in New York from 1992-98
Appointed to 2nd circuit court of appeals by Bill Clinton, from 1998-2009
Appointed by Obama in 2009 to the Supreme Court
Replaced the retiring David Souter.
1st woman and 3rd hispanic on the Supreme Court.
Confirmed 68-31.
In her first case, she dissented. (Citizens United V. FEC)
60 page dissent stating that there should not be prohibitions for state universities using race in admissions.(Schuette V. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action)
Elena Kagan:
Born in New York, New York in 1960
Graduated summa cum laude from Princeton in 1981, received a fellowship to attend Oxford in 1983, and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1986
Highly involved in politics, and wanted to be involved in law from a very young age
Clerk for Thurgood Marshall in the 1987 term
Associate Counsel to Bill Clinton
Assistant, and later Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Counsel
Was dean of Harvard law from 2003-2009
Appointed Solicitor General of U.S. in 2009 by Barack Obama
Appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010 by Barack Obama
Replaced John Paul Stevens after his death
Confirmed 63-37
No prior judicial experience on a court
Had few early opinions, as she had to recuse herself frequently because of cases involving the Bill Clinton counsel
Authored patent decision on comic books (Kimble V. Marvel Entertainment)
In majority opinion in Obergefell V. Hodges, and in King V. Burwell
Neil Gorsuch:
Born in Denver, Colorado in 1967
Graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia in 1988, graduated from Harvard in 1991, and later attended Oxford
Was greatly influenced politically since his mother became the first female Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency
Law clerk for Justice Byron White and for Anthony Kennedy
Appointed as Principal Deputy Associate AG 2005-2006 by George W, Bush
Appointed to U.S. court of appeals 10th circuit by George W. Bush
Merrick Garland’s nomination by Barack Obama failed to gain a majority, and passed the appointment on to Trump
Appointed to Supreme Court in 2017 by Donald Trump
Replaced Antonin Scalia after his death
Confirmed 54-45
Brett Kavanaugh:
Born in Washington, DC in 1965
Attended Georgetown Preparatory College, Yale in 1987, and eventually received a J.D. from Yale in 1990
Law clerk for Anthony Kennedy
Appointed to Attorney Office of Solicitor General from 1992-1993
Associate Counsel in Office of Independent Counsel from 1994-1997
outlined grounds for clinton's impeachment in STARR report
Associate Counsel for George W. Bush from 2001-2003
Appointed to the D.C. appeals circuit in 2006 by George W. Bush
Appointed to Supreme Court in 2018 by Trump
Replaced retiring Anthony Kennedy
Confirmed 50-48, even with sexual assault scandal
Amy Coney Barrett:
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1972
Graduated magna cum laude from Rhodes College in 1994. Graduated from Notre Dame Law in 1997
Barrett wanted to go into law or politics because her father was an attorney for Shell Oil
Law clerk for Antonin Scalia in 1998 term
Became Notre Dame law professor in 2002
Appointed to 2017 appeals circuit by Donald Trump
Appointed to Supreme Court in 2020 Donald Trump
Replaced Ruth Bader Ginsburg after her death
Confirmed 52-48
#SupremeCourt #Justices #summarized #biographies
Sources:
https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx
https://www.scotusblog.com/biographies-of-the-justices/
https://www.oyez.org/justices