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The US Supreme Court has nine justices appointed by the president and approved by the Senate for a lifetime term. Congress determines the number of justices, which has changed several times since 1790, with the current number being nine. The Supreme Court has the power to decide whether laws are constitutional and has significant influence over public policy. In 1937, President Roosevelt unsuccessfully attempted to increase the number of justices to 15.
Currently, the number of justices on the US Supreme Court is nine, but this has varied throughout history. Justices are appointed by the president and must be approved by the Senate; once appointed, they have a lifetime term, meaning they can serve until they decide to retire. The Constitution gives Congress the power to determine the number of justices who serve, and that number has changed several times since the court’s inception. The first Supreme Court of the United States in 1790 had six justices. The number has been between five and ten, but has remained at nine since 1869.
In the United States, the Supreme Court is the highest level of the federal judicial system. As such, judges’ decisions are binding because there is no higher court to appeal to. The Supreme Court has the power to decide whether laws are permitted by the Constitution, and this authority allows it to exercise considerable influence over matters of public policy. Justices are chosen by the president, but such appointments must be approved by the Senate. Under the Constitution, an appointment to the US Supreme Court is for life “during good behavior” and justices can serve until they die or choose to retire.
Article III of the United States Constitution gives Congress the power to establish the number of justices on the Supreme Court. There are currently nine, with a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. Since the Supreme Court was introduced in 1790 with six justices, there have been several changes to the number. When a judge died in 1801, Congress lowered the number to five to prevent President Thomas Jefferson, with whom they disagreed on many issues, from making an appointment. When the next Congress took office, the number was restored to six, where it remained for several years.
The next change came in 1807, when Congress increased the number to seven, with another increase to nine in 1837. The amount remained nine for quite a while, but in 1863 during the Civil War it was increased to ten. After the war ended, there was much friction between Congress and President Andrew Johnson; as a result, Congress passed a law that the next three justices who left the Court would not be replaced, potentially reducing the number of justices to seven. The last successful change was in 1869, when Congress passed the Judiciary Act, bringing it back to nine. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to “pack the court” by bringing the number of justices to 15; this attempt, however, was unsuccessful.
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