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List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
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The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight associate justices, any six of whom would constitute a quorum.[1][2] Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution grants plenary power to the President of the United States to nominate, and with the advice and consent (confirmation) of the United States Senate, appoint justices to the Supreme Court. Justices have life tenure,[3] and receive a salary which is set at $255,500 per year for the chief justice and at $244,400 per year for each associate justice as of 2014.[4][5][6]
The Supreme Court was created by Article III of the United States Constitution, which stipulates that the "judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court,"[7] and was organized by the 1st United States Congress. Through the Judiciary Act of 1789, Congress specified the Court's original and appellate jurisdiction, created thirteen judicial districts, and fixed the number of justices at six (one chief justice and five associate justices).[8][9]
Since 1789, Congress has occasionally altered the size of the Supreme Court, historically in response to the country's own expansion in size. An 1801 act would have decreased the Court's size to five members upon its next vacancy. However, an 1802 act negated the effects of the 1801 act upon the Court before any such vacancy occurred, maintaining the Court's size at six members. Later legislation increased its size to seven members in 1807, to nine in 1837, and to ten in 1863. An 1866 act was to have reduced the Court's size from ten members to seven upon its next three vacancies, and two vacancies did occur during this period. However, before a third vacancy occurred, the Judiciary Act of 1869 intervened, restoring the Court's size to nine members, where it has remained since.[10]
While the justices of the Supreme Court are appointed for life, many have retired or resigned. Beginning in the early 20th century, many justices who left the Court voluntarily did so by retiring from the Court without leaving the federal judiciary altogether. A retired justice, according to the United States Code, is no longer a member of the Supreme Court, but remains eligible to serve by designation as a judge of a U.S. Court of Appeals or District Court, and many retired justices have served in these capacities. Historically, the average length of service on the Court has been less than 15 years. However, since 1970 the average length of service has increased to about 26 years.[11]
Contents
1 Current justices of the Supreme Court
2 All justices of the Supreme Court
2.1 Notes
3 Timeline of justices
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
Current justices of the Supreme Court[edit]
There are currently nine justices serving on the Supreme Court; listed in order of seniority, they are:
John Roberts,
Chief Justice
since September 29, 2005
Age 7004232860000000000♠63[12]
Clarence Thomas,
Associate Justice
since October 23, 1991
Age 7004256950000000000♠70[13]
Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
Associate Justice
since August 10, 1993
Age 7004312740000000000♠85[14]
Stephen Breyer,
Associate Justice
since August 3, 1994
Age 7004292950000000000♠80[15]
Samuel Alito,
Associate Justice
since January 31, 2006
Age 7004250480000000000♠68[16]
Sonia Sotomayor,
Associate Justice
since August 8, 2009
Age 7004235020000000000♠64[17]
Elena Kagan,
Associate Justice
since August 7, 2010
Age 7004213680000000000♠58[18]
Neil Gorsuch,
Associate Justice
since April 10, 2017
Age 7004186890000000000♠51[19]
Brett Kavanaugh,
Associate Justice
since October 6, 2018
Age 7004196170000000000♠53[20]
All justices of the Supreme Court[edit]
Since the Supreme Court was established in 1789, 114 persons have served on the Court. The length of service on the Court for the 105 non-incumbent justices ranges from William O. Douglas's 36 years, 211 days to the 163-day tenure of Thomas Johnson. As of October 29, 2018, the length of service for the nine incumbent justices ranges from Clarence Thomas' 7003986800000000000♠27 years, 6 days to Brett Kavanaugh's 7001230000000000000♠23 days. Five individuals were confirmed for associate justice, and later appointed chief justice separately: John Rutledge,[a] Edward Douglass White,[b] Charles Evans Hughes,[a] Harlan F. Stone,[b] and William Rehnquist.[b] While listed twice, each of them has been assigned only one index number. The justices of the Supreme Court are:[21][22]
Justice
State[c]
Position
Replacing
Date confirmed
(Vote)
Tenure
Tenure length[d]
Appointed by
1 John Jay
(1745–1829) NY Chief
Justice New seat September 26, 1789
(Acclamation) October 19, 1789
–
June 29, 1795
(Resigned) 7003207900000000000♠5 years, 253 days George Washington
2 John Rutledge
(1739–1800) SC Associate
Justice New seat September 26, 1789
(Acclamation) February 15, 1790
–
March 4, 1791
(Resigned) 7002382000000000000♠1 year, 17 days
3 William Cushing
(1732–1810) MA Associate
Justice New seat September 26, 1789
(Acclamation) February 2, 1790
–
September 13, 1810
(Died) 7003752700000000000♠20 years, 223 days
4 James Wilson
(1742–1798) PA Associate
Justice New seat September 26, 1789
(Acclamation) October 5, 1789
–
August 21, 1798
(Died) 7003324200000000000♠8 years, 320 days
5 John Blair
(1732–1800) VA Associate
Justice New seat September 26, 1789
(Acclamation) February 2, 1790
–
October 25, 1795
(Resigned) 7003209100000000000♠5 years, 265 days
6 James Iredell
(1751–1799) NC Associate
Justice New seat February 10, 1790
(Acclamation) May 12, 1790
–
October 20, 1799
(Died) 7003344800000000000♠9 years, 161 days
7 Thomas Johnson
(1732–1819) MD Associate
Justice J. Rutledge November 7, 1791
(Acclamation) August 6, 1792[e]
–
January 16, 1793
(Resigned) 7002163000000000000♠163 days
8 William Paterson
(1745–1806) NJ Associate
Justice T. Johnson March 4, 1793
(Acclamation) March 11, 1793
–
September 8, 1806
(Died) 7003492800000000000♠13 years, 181 days
2 John Rutledge
(1739–1800) SC Chief
Justice Jay December 15, 1795
(10–14)[f] August 12, 1795[e]
–
December 28, 1795
(Resigned, nomination having been rejected) 7002138000000000000♠138 days
9 Samuel Chase[g]
(1741–1811) MD Associate
Justice Blair January 27, 1796
(Acclamation) February 4, 1796
–
June 19, 1811
(Died) 7003561300000000000♠15 years, 135 days
10 Oliver Ellsworth
(1745–1807) CT Chief
Justice J. Rutledge March 4, 1796
(21–1) March 8, 1796
–
December 15, 1800
(Resigned) 7003174200000000000♠4 years, 282 days
11 Bushrod Washington
(1762–1829) VA Associate
Justice Wilson December 20, 1798
(Acclamation) November 9, 1798[e]
–
November 26, 1829
(Died) 7004113390000000000♠31 years, 17 days John Adams
12 Alfred Moore
(1755–1810) NC Associate
Justice Iredell December 9, 1799
(Acclamation) April 21, 1800
–
January 26, 1804
(Resigned) 7003137500000000000♠3 years, 280 days
13 John Marshall
(1755–1835) VA Chief
Justice Ellsworth January 27, 1801
(Acclamation) February 4, 1801
–
July 6, 1835
(Died) 7004125700000000000♠34 years, 152 days
14 William Johnson
(1771–1834) SC Associate
Justice Moore March 24, 1804
(Acclamation) May 7, 1804
–
August 4, 1834
(Died) 7004110460000000000♠30 years, 89 days Thomas Jefferson
15 Henry Brockholst Livingston
(1757–1823) NY Associate
Justice Paterson December 17, 1806
(Acclamation) January 20, 1807
–
March 18, 1823
(Died) 7003590100000000000♠16 years, 57 days
16 Thomas Todd
(1765–1826) KY Associate
Justice New seat March 2, 1807
(Acclamation) March 3, 1807
–
February 7, 1826
(Died) 7003691600000000000♠18 years, 341 days
17 Gabriel Duvall
(1752–1844) MD Associate
Justice S. Chase November 18, 1811
(Acclamation) November 23, 1811
–
January 12, 1835
(Resigned) 7003845100000000000♠23 years, 50 days James Madison
18 Joseph Story
(1779–1845) MA Associate
Justice Cushing November 18, 1811
(Acclamation) February 3, 1812
–
September 10, 1845
(Died) 7004122730000000000♠33 years, 219 days
19 Smith Thompson
(1768–1843) NY Associate
Justice Livingston December 9, 1823
(Acclamation) September 1, 1823[e]
–
December 18, 1843
(Died) 7003741300000000000♠20 years, 108 days James Monroe
20 Robert Trimble
(1776–1828) KY Associate
Justice Todd May 9, 1826
(25–5) June 16, 1826
–
August 25, 1828
(Died) 7002801000000000000♠2 years, 70 days John Quincy Adams
21 John McLean
(1785–1861) OH Associate
Justice Trimble March 7, 1829
(Acclamation) January 11, 1830
–
April 4, 1861
(Died) 7004114060000000000♠31 years, 83 days Andrew Jackson
22 Henry Baldwin
(1780–1844) PA Associate
Justice Washington January 6, 1830
(41–2) January 18, 1830
–
April 21, 1844
(Died) 7003520700000000000♠14 years, 94 days
23 James Moore Wayne
(1790–1867) GA Associate
Justice W. Johnson January 9, 1835
(Acclamation) January 14, 1835
–
July 5, 1867
(Died) 7004118600000000000♠32 years, 172 days
24 Roger B. Taney
(1777–1864) MD Chief
Justice J. Marshall March 15, 1836
(29–15) March 28, 1836
–
October 12, 1864
(Died) 7004104250000000000♠28 years, 198 days
25 Philip Pendleton Barbour
(1783–1841) VA Associate
Justice Duvall March 15, 1836
(30–11) May 12, 1836
–
February 25, 1841
(Died) 7003175000000000000♠4 years, 289 days
26 John Catron
(1786–1865) TN Associate
Justice New seat March 8, 1837
(28–15) May 1, 1837
–
May 30, 1865
(Died) 7004102560000000000♠28 years, 29 days
27 John McKinley
(1780–1852) AL Associate
Justice New seat September 25, 1837
(Acclamation) January 9, 1838
–
July 19, 1852
(Died) 7003530500000000000♠14 years, 192 days Martin Van Buren
28 Peter Vivian Daniel
(1784–1860) VA Associate
Justice Barbour March 2, 1841
(25–5) January 10, 1842
–
May 31, 1860
(Died) 7003671600000000000♠18 years, 142 days
29 Samuel Nelson
(1792–1873) NY Associate
Justice Thompson February 14, 1845
(Acclamation) February 27, 1845
–
November 28, 1872
(Retired) 7004101360000000000♠27 years, 275 days John Tyler
30 Levi Woodbury
(1789–1851) NH Associate
Justice Story January 31, 1846
(Acclamation) September 23, 1845[e]
–
September 4, 1851
(Died) 7003217200000000000♠5 years, 346 days James K. Polk
31 Robert Cooper Grier
(1794–1870) PA Associate
Justice Baldwin August 4, 1846
(Acclamation) August 10, 1846
–
January 31, 1870
(Retired) 7003857500000000000♠23 years, 174 days
32 Benjamin Robbins Curtis
(1809–1874) MA Associate
Justice Woodbury December 20, 1851
(Acclamation) October 10, 1851[e]
–
September 30, 1857
(Resigned) 7003218200000000000♠5 years, 355 days Millard Fillmore
33 John Archibald Campbell
(1811–1889) AL Associate
Justice McKinley March 22, 1853
(Acclamation) April 11, 1853
–
April 30, 1861
(Resigned) 7003294100000000000♠8 years, 19 days Franklin Pierce
34 Nathan Clifford
(1803–1881) ME Associate
Justice Curtis January 12, 1858
(26–23) January 21, 1858
–
July 25, 1881
(Died) 7003858600000000000♠23 years, 185 days James Buchanan
35 Noah Haynes Swayne
(1804–1884) OH Associate
Justice McLean January 24, 1862
(38–1) January 27, 1862
–
January 24, 1881
(Retired) 7003693700000000000♠18 years, 363 days Abraham Lincoln
36 Samuel Freeman Miller
(1816–1890) IA Associate
Justice Daniel July 16, 1862
(Acclamation) July 21, 1862
–
October 13, 1890
(Died) 7004103110000000000♠28 years, 84 days
37 David Davis
(1815–1886) IL Associate
Justice Campbell December 8, 1862
(Acclamation) December 10, 1862[e]
–
March 4, 1877
(Resigned) 7003519800000000000♠14 years, 84 days
38 Stephen Johnson Field
(1816–1899) CA Associate
Justice New seat March 10, 1863
(Acclamation) May 10, 1863
–
December 1, 1897
(Retired) 7004126240000000000♠34 years, 205 days
39 Salmon P. Chase
(1808–1873) OH Chief
Justice Taney December 6, 1864
(Acclamation) December 15, 1864
–
May 7, 1873
(Died) 7003306500000000000♠8 years, 143 days
40 William Strong
(1808–1895) PA Associate
Justice Grier February 18, 1870
(No vote recorded) March 14, 1870
–
December 14, 1880
(Retired) 7003392800000000000♠10 years, 275 days Ulysses S. Grant
41 Joseph Philo Bradley
(1813–1892) NJ Associate
Justice New seat March 21, 1870
(46–9) March 23, 1870
–
January 22, 1892
(Died) 7003797500000000000♠21 years, 305 days
42 Ward Hunt
(1810–1886) NY Associate
Justice Nelson December 11, 1872
(Acclamation) January 9, 1873
–
January 27, 1882
(Retired) 7003330500000000000♠9 years, 18 days
43 Morrison Waite
(1816–1888) OH Chief
Justice S. P. Chase January 21, 1874
(63–0) March 4, 1874
–
March 23, 1888
(Died) 7003513300000000000♠14 years, 19 days
44 John Marshall Harlan
(1833–1911) KY Associate
Justice Davis November 29, 1877
(Acclamation) December 10, 1877
–
October 14, 1911
(Died) 7004123600000000000♠33 years, 308 days Rutherford B. Hayes
45 William Burnham Woods
(1824–1887) GA Associate
Justice Strong December 21, 1880
(39–8) January 5, 1881
–
May 14, 1887
(Died) 7003232000000000000♠6 years, 129 days
46 Stanley Matthews
(1824–1889) OH Associate
Justice Swayne May 12, 1881
(24–23) May 17, 1881
–
March 22, 1889
(Died) 7003286600000000000♠7 years, 309 days James Garfield
47 Horace Gray
(1828–1902) MA Associate
Justice Clifford December 20, 1881
(51–5) January 9, 1882
–
September 15, 1902
(Died) 7003755300000000000♠20 years, 249 days Chester A. Arthur
48 Samuel Blatchford
(1820–1893) NY Associate
Justice Hunt March 22, 1882
(Acclamation) April 3, 1882
–
July 7, 1893
(Died) 7003411300000000000♠11 years, 95 days
49 Lucius Quintus
Cincinnatus Lamar II
(1825–1893) MS Associate
Justice Woods January 16, 1888
(32–28) January 18, 1888
–
January 23, 1893
(Died) 7003183200000000000♠5 years, 5 days Grover Cleveland
50 Melville Fuller
(1833–1910) IL Chief
Justice Waite July 20, 1888
(41–20) October 8, 1888
–
July 4, 1910
(Died) 7003793800000000000♠21 years, 269 days
51 David Josiah Brewer
(1837–1910) KS Associate
Justice Matthews December 18, 1889
(53–11) January 6, 1890
–
March 28, 1910
(Died) 7003738500000000000♠20 years, 81 days Benjamin Harrison
52 Henry Billings Brown
(1836–1913) MI Associate
Justice Miller December 29, 1890
(Acclamation) January 5, 1891
–
May 28, 1906
(Retired) 7003598600000000000♠16 years, 143 days
53 George Shiras, Jr.
(1832–1924) PA Associate
Justice Bradley July 26, 1892
(Acclamation) October 10, 1892
–
February 23, 1903
(Retired) 7003378700000000000♠10 years, 136 days
54 Howell Edmunds Jackson
(1832–1895) TN Associate
Justice L. Lamar February 18, 1893
(Acclamation) March 4, 1893
–
August 8, 1895
(Died) 7002887000000000000♠2 years, 157 days
55 Edward Douglass White
(1845–1921) LA Associate
Justice Blatchford February 19, 1894
(Acclamation) March 12, 1894
–
December 18, 1910
(Continued as chief justice) 7003612400000000000♠16 years, 281 days Grover Cleveland
56 Rufus Wheeler Peckham
(1838–1909) NY Associate
Justice H. Jackson December 9, 1895
(Acclamation) January 6, 1896
–
October 24, 1909
(Died) 7003503900000000000♠13 years, 291 days
57 Joseph McKenna
(1843–1926) CA Associate
Justice[h] Field January 21, 1898
(Acclamation) January 26, 1898
–
January 5, 1925
(Retired) 7003984000000000000♠26 years, 345 days William McKinley
58 Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
(1841–1935) MA Associate
Justice[i] Gray December 4, 1902
(Acclamation) December 8, 1902
–
January 12, 1932
(Retired) 7004106270000000000♠29 years, 35 days Theodore Roosevelt
59 William R. Day
(1849–1923) OH Associate
Justice Shiras February 23, 1903
(Acclamation) March 2, 1903
–
November 13, 1922
(Retired) 7003719600000000000♠19 years, 256 days
60 William Henry Moody
(1853–1917) MA Associate
Justice Brown December 12, 1906
(Acclamation) December 17, 1906
–
November 20, 1910
(Retired) 7003143400000000000♠3 years, 338 days
61 Horace Harmon Lurton
(1844–1914) TN Associate
Justice Peckham December 20, 1909
(Acclamation) January 3, 1910
–
July 12, 1914
(Died) 7003166500000000000♠4 years, 204 days William Howard Taft
62 Charles Evans Hughes
(1862–1948) NY Associate
Justice Brewer May 2, 1910
(Acclamation) October 10, 1910
–
June 10, 1916
(Resigned) 7003207000000000000♠5 years, 244 days
55 Edward Douglass White
(1845–1921) LA Chief
Justice Fuller December 12, 1910
(Acclamation) December 19, 1910
–
May 19, 1921
(Died) 7003380400000000000♠10 years, 151 days
63 Willis Van Devanter
(1859–1941) WY Associate
Justice E. D. White December 15, 1910
(Acclamation) January 3, 1911[j]
–
June 2, 1937
(Retired) 7003964700000000000♠26 years, 150 days
64 Joseph Rucker Lamar
(1857–1916) GA Associate
Justice Moody December 15, 1910
(Acclamation) January 3, 1911[j]
–
January 2, 1916
(Died) 7003182500000000000♠4 years, 364 days
65 Mahlon Pitney
(1858–1924) NJ Associate
Justice J. Harlan March 13, 1912
(50–26) March 18, 1912
–
December 31, 1922
(Resigned) 7003394000000000000♠10 years, 288 days
66 James Clark McReynolds
(1862–1946) TN Associate
Justice Lurton August 29, 1914
(44–6) October 12, 1914
–
January 31, 1941
(Retired) 7003960800000000000♠26 years, 111 days Woodrow Wilson
67 Louis Brandeis
(1856–1941) KY Associate
Justice J. Lamar June 1, 1916
(47–22) June 5, 1916
–
February 13, 1939
(Retired) 7003828800000000000♠22 years, 253 days
68 John Hessin Clarke
(1857–1945) OH Associate
Justice Hughes July 24, 1916
(Acclamation) October 9, 1916
–
September 18, 1922
(Retired) 7003217000000000000♠5 years, 344 days
69 William Howard Taft
(1857–1930) CT Chief
Justice E. D. White June 30, 1921
(Acclamation) July 11, 1921
–
February 3, 1930
(Retired) 7003312900000000000♠8 years, 207 days Warren G. Harding
70 George Sutherland
(1862–1942) UT Associate
Justice Clarke September 5, 1922
(Acclamation) October 2, 1922
–
January 17, 1938
(Retired) 7003558600000000000♠15 years, 107 days
71 Pierce Butler
(1866–1939) MN Associate
Justice Day December 21, 1922
(61–8) January 2, 1923
–
November 16, 1939
(Died) 7003616200000000000♠16 years, 318 days
72 Edward Terry Sanford
(1865–1930) TN Associate
Justice Pitney January 29, 1923
(Acclamation) February 19, 1923
–
March 8, 1930
(Died) 7003257400000000000♠7 years, 17 days
73 Harlan F. Stone
(1872–1946) NY Associate
Justice[k] McKenna February 5, 1925
(71–6) March 2, 1925
–
July 2, 1941
(Continued as chief justice) 7003596600000000000♠16 years, 122 days Calvin Coolidge
62 Charles Evans Hughes
(1862–1948) NY Chief
Justice Taft February 13, 1930
(52–26) February 24, 1930
–
June 30, 1941
(Retired) 7003414400000000000♠11 years, 126 days Herbert Hoover
74 Owen Josephus Roberts
(1875–1955) PA Associate
Justice Sanford May 20, 1930
(Acclamation) June 2, 1930
–
July 31, 1945
(Resigned) 7003553800000000000♠15 years, 59 days
75 Benjamin N. Cardozo
(1870–1938) NY Associate
Justice Holmes February 24, 1932
(Acclamation) March 14, 1932
–
July 9, 1938
(Died) 7003230800000000000♠6 years, 117 days
76 Hugo Black
(1886–1971) AL Associate
Justice[l] Van Devanter August 17, 1937
(63–16) August 19, 1937
–
September 17, 1971
(Retired) 7004124470000000000♠34 years, 29 days Franklin D. Roosevelt
77 Stanley Forman Reed
(1884–1980) KY Associate
Justice Sutherland January 25, 1938
(Acclamation) January 31, 1938
–
February 25, 1957
(Retired) 7003696500000000000♠19 years, 25 days
78 Felix Frankfurter
(1882–1965) MA Associate
Justice Cardozo January 17, 1939
(Acclamation) January 30, 1939
–
August 28, 1962
(Retired) 7003861100000000000♠23 years, 210 days
79 William O. Douglas
(1898–1980) CT Associate
Justice Brandeis April 4, 1939
(62–4) April 17, 1939
–
November 12, 1975
(Retired) 7004133600000000000♠36 years, 211 days
80 Frank Murphy
(1890–1949) MI Associate
Justice Butler January 16, 1940
(Acclamation) February 5, 1940
–
July 19, 1949
(Died) 7003345200000000000♠9 years, 164 days
73 Harlan F. Stone
(1872–1946) NY Chief
Justice Hughes June 27, 1941
(Acclamation) July 3, 1941
–
April 22, 1946
(Died) 7003175400000000000♠4 years, 293 days
81 James F. Byrnes
(1882–1972) SC Associate
Justice McReynolds June 12, 1941
(Acclamation) July 8, 1941
–
October 3, 1942
(Resigned) 7002452000000000000♠1 year, 87 days
82 Robert H. Jackson
(1892–1954) NY Associate
Justice Stone July 7, 1941
(Acclamation) July 11, 1941
–
October 9, 1954
(Died) 7003483800000000000♠13 years, 90 days
83 Wiley Blount Rutledge
(1894–1949) IA Associate
Justice Byrnes February 8, 1943
(Acclamation) February 15, 1943
–
September 10, 1949
(Died) 7003239900000000000♠6 years, 207 days
84 Harold Hitz Burton
(1888–1964) OH Associate
Justice O. Roberts September 19, 1945
(Acclamation) October 1, 1945
–
October 13, 1958
(Retired) 7003476000000000000♠13 years, 12 days Harry S. Truman
85 Fred M. Vinson
(1890–1953) KY Chief
Justice Stone June 20, 1946
(Acclamation) June 24, 1946
–
September 8, 1953
(Died) 7003263300000000000♠7 years, 76 days
86 Tom C. Clark
(1899–1977) TX Associate
Justice Murphy August 18, 1949
(73–8) August 24, 1949
–
June 12, 1967
(Retired) 7003650100000000000♠17 years, 292 days
87 Sherman Minton
(1890–1965) IN Associate
Justice W. Rutledge October 4, 1949
(48–16) October 12, 1949
–
October 15, 1956
(Retired) 7003256000000000000♠7 years, 3 days
88 Earl Warren
(1891–1974) CA Chief
Justice Vinson March 1, 1954
(Acclamation) October 5, 1953[e]
–
June 23, 1969
(Retired) 7003574000000000000♠15 years, 261 days Dwight D. Eisenhower
89 John Marshall Harlan II
(1899–1971) NY Associate
Justice R. Jackson March 16, 1955
(71–11) March 28, 1955
–
September 23, 1971
(Retired) 7003602300000000000♠16 years, 179 days
90 William J. Brennan
(1906–1997) NJ Associate
Justice Minton March 19, 1957
(Acclamation) October 16, 1956[e]
–
July 20, 1990
(Retired) 7004123300000000000♠33 years, 277 days
91 Charles Evans Whittaker
(1901–1973) MO Associate
Justice Reed March 19, 1957
(Acclamation) March 25, 1957
–
March 31, 1962
(Resigned) 7003183200000000000♠5 years, 6 days
92 Potter Stewart
(1915–1985) OH Associate
Justice Burton May 5, 1959
(70–17) October 14, 1958[e]
–
July 3, 1981
(Retired) 7003829800000000000♠22 years, 262 days
93 Byron White
(1917–2002) CO Associate
Justice Whittaker April 11, 1962
(Acclamation) April 16, 1962
–
June 28, 1993
(Retired) 7004113960000000000♠31 years, 73 days John F. Kennedy
94 Arthur Goldberg
(1908–1990) IL Associate
Justice Frankfurter September 25, 1962
(Acclamation) October 1, 1962
–
July 25, 1965
(Resigned) 7003103100000000000♠2 years, 300 days
95 Abe Fortas
(1910–1982) TN Associate
Justice Goldberg August 11, 1965
(Acclamation) October 4, 1965
–
May 14, 1969
(Resigned) 7003131800000000000♠3 years, 222 days Lyndon B. Johnson
96 Thurgood Marshall
(1908–1993) NY Associate
Justice Clark August 30, 1967
(69–11) October 2, 1967
–
October 1, 1991
(Retired) 7003876500000000000♠23 years, 364 days
97 Warren E. Burger
(1907–1995) VA Chief
Justice Warren June 9, 1969
(74–3) June 23, 1969
–
September 26, 1986
(Retired) 7003630400000000000♠17 years, 95 days Richard Nixon
98 Harry Blackmun
(1908–1999) MN Associate
Justice Fortas May 12, 1970
(94–0) June 9, 1970
–
August 3, 1994
(Retired) 7003882100000000000♠24 years, 55 days
99 Lewis F. Powell Jr.
(1907–1998) VA Associate
Justice Black December 6, 1971
(89–1) January 7, 1972[m]
–
June 26, 1987
(Retired) 7003564900000000000♠15 years, 170 days
100 William Rehnquist
(1924–2005) AZ Associate
Justice J. Harlan II December 10, 1971
(68–26) January 7, 1972[m]
–
September 26, 1986
(Continued as chief justice) 7003537600000000000♠14 years, 262 days
101 John Paul Stevens
(born 1920) IL Associate
Justice[n] Douglas December 17, 1975
(98–0) December 19, 1975
–
June 29, 2010
(Retired) 7004126110000000000♠34 years, 192 days Gerald Ford
102 Sandra Day O'Connor
(born 1930) AZ Associate
Justice Stewart September 21, 1981
(99–0) September 25, 1981
–
January 31, 2006
(Retired) 7003889400000000000♠24 years, 128 days Ronald Reagan
100 William Rehnquist
(1924–2005) VA Chief
Justice Burger September 17, 1986
(65–33) September 26, 1986
–
September 3, 2005
(Died) 7003691700000000000♠18 years, 342 days
103 Antonin Scalia
(1936–2016) VA Associate
Justice Rehnquist September 17, 1986
(98–0) September 26, 1986
–
February 13, 2016
(Died) 7004107320000000000♠29 years, 140 days
104 Anthony Kennedy
(born 1936) CA Associate
Justice Powell February 3, 1988
(97–0) February 18, 1988
–
July 31, 2018
(Retired) 7004111210000000000♠30 years, 163 days
105 David Souter
(born 1939) NH Associate
Justice Brennan October 2, 1990
(90–9) October 9, 1990
–
June 29, 2009
(Retired) 7003683800000000000♠18 years, 263 days George H. W. Bush
106 Clarence Thomas
(born 1948) GA Associate
Justice T. Marshall October 15, 1991
(52–48) October 23, 1991
–
Incumbent 7003986800000000000♠27 years, 6 days[o]
107 Ruth Bader Ginsburg
(born 1933) NY Associate
Justice B. White August 3, 1993
(96–3) August 10, 1993
–
Incumbent 7003921100000000000♠25 years, 80 days[o] Bill Clinton
108 Stephen Breyer
(born 1938) MA Associate
Justice Blackmun July 29, 1994
(87–9) August 3, 1994
–
Incumbent 7003885300000000000♠24 years, 87 days[o]
109 John Roberts
(born 1955) MD Chief
Justice Rehnquist September 29, 2005
(78–22) September 29, 2005
–
Incumbent 7003477800000000000♠13 years, 30 days[o] George W. Bush
110 Samuel Alito
(born 1950) NJ Associate
Justice O'Connor January 31, 2006
(58–42) January 31, 2006
–
Incumbent 7003465400000000000♠12 years, 271 days[o]
111 Sonia Sotomayor
(born 1954) NY Associate
Justice Souter August 6, 2009
(68–31) August 8, 2009
–
Incumbent 7003336900000000000♠9 years, 82 days[o] Barack Obama
112 Elena Kagan
(born 1960) MA Associate
Justice Stevens August 5, 2010
(63–37) August 7, 2010
–
Incumbent 7003300500000000000♠8 years, 83 days[o]
113 Neil Gorsuch
(born 1967) CO Associate
Justice Scalia April 7, 2017
(54–45) April 10, 2017
–
Incumbent 7002567000000000000♠1 year, 202 days[o] Donald Trump
114 Brett Kavanaugh
(born 1965) MD Associate
Justice Kennedy October 6, 2018
(50–48) October 6, 2018
–
Incumbent 7001230000000000000♠23 days[o]
Justice
State[c]
Position
Replacing
Date confirmed
(Vote)
Tenure
Tenure length
Appointed by
Notes[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Served on the Supreme Court twice, first as associate justice, and then, after a period of years off the Court, as chief justice.
^ Jump up to: a b c Elevated from associate justice to chief justice while serving on the Supreme Court. Such appointments are subject to a separate confirmation process.
^ Jump up to: a b State of residence at the time of appointment. For example, in 1971, Rehnquist was appointed from Arizona, but in 1986, when elevated to chief justice, he was appointed from Virginia.[23]
Jump up ^ The start date given for each justice is the day he or she took the prescribed judicial oath of office, with the end date being the date of the justice's death, resignation, or retirement.[22]
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j Recess appointment
Jump up ^ This was the first Supreme Court nomination to be rejected by the Senate. Rutledge remains the only "recess appointed" justice not to be subsequently confirmed by the Senate.
Jump up ^ Was impeached, but not convicted, and remained in office.
Jump up ^ Acted as chief justice under 36 Stat. 1152, May 19 – July 11, 1921.
Jump up ^ Acted as chief justice under 36 Stat. 1152, February 3–24, 1930.
^ Jump up to: a b While Willis Van Devanter and Joseph Rucker Lamar were sworn in as associate justice on the same date, their seniority (precedence) on the Supreme Court was determined by the seniority of their commissions—Van Devanter received and accepted his first—in accordance with XIII Rev. Stat. 9 § 674.
Jump up ^ Acted as chief justice under 36 Stat. 1152, June 30 – July 3, 1941.
Jump up ^ Acted as chief justice under 36 Stat. 1152, April 22 – June 24, 1946, and again, under 62 Stat. 869, September 8 – October 5, 1953.
^ Jump up to: a b While Lewis Powell and William Rehnqust were sworn in as associate justice on the same date, their seniority (precedence) on the Supreme Court was determined by the seniority of their commissions—Powell received and accepted his first—in accordance with 62 Stat. 869.
Jump up ^ Acted as chief justice under 62 Stat. 869, September 3–29, 2005.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i As of October 29, 2018.
Timeline of justices[edit]
This graphical timeline depicts the progression of the justices on the Supreme Court. Information regarding each justice's predecessors, successors and fellow justices, as well as their tenure on the court can be gleaned (and comparisons between justices drawn) from it. Additionally, The progression of presidents, along with the number of justices each nominated, is shown at the top of the timeline to give a more detailed historical context. There are no formal names or numbers for the individual seats of the associate justices, which are listed in the table below simply by number. Note that, due to the several changes in the size of the Court since 1789, two of the seats chronicled—"5" and "7"—have been abolished, both as a result of the Judicial Circuits Act of 1866.
See also[edit]
Law of the United States
List of courts of the United States
List of national supreme courts
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Stathis, Stephen W. (2014). Landmark Legislation 1774–2012: Major U.S. Acts and Treaties. CQ Press. p. 122.
Jump up ^ Hall, Kermit L. (2005). "Judiciary Act of 1869". In Hall, Kermit L.; Ely, James W.; Grossman, Joel B. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Oxford University Press. p. 548.
Jump up ^ McMillion, Barry J.; Rutkus, Denis Steven (July 6, 2018). "Supreme Court Nominations, 1789 to 2017: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
Jump up ^ Mears, Bill (January 1, 2010). "Chief Justice Roberts has little to say at year's end". CNN. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
Jump up ^ Barnes, Robert (January 1, 2010). "Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts opts not to ask Congress to raise judicial salaries". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
Jump up ^ Rowley, James (January 13, 2014). "Federal Judges in U.S. See $25,000 More as Salary Freeze Falls". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
Jump up ^ "Article III". Ithaca, New York: Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
Jump up ^ "About The Supreme Court". Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Archived from the original on April 12, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
Jump up ^ "Supreme Court Research Guide". Georgetown Law Library. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
Jump up ^ Smith, Jean Edward (July 26, 2007). "Stacking the Court". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
Jump up ^ Rosen, Jeffrey (February 26, 2008). "Dems' Choices For Bench Surprisingly Slim". CBS News. Retrieved February 17, 2010.
Jump up ^ "Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Justice Clarence Thomas". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Justice Stephen G. Breyer". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Justice Sonia Sotomayor". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Justice Elena Kagan". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Justice Neil M. Gorsuch". Washington, D.C.: The Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
Jump up ^ Fram, Alan; Mascaro, Lisa; Daly, Matthew. "Kavanaugh sworn to high court after rancorous confirmation". AP.
Jump up ^ "U.S. Senate: Supreme Court Nominations: 1789–Present". www.senate.gov. United States Senate. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b "Justices 1789 to Present". www.supremecourt.gov. Retrieved January 11, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Members of the Supreme Court of the United States". www.supremecourt.gov. United States Supreme Court. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
External links[edit]
Biographies of Justices
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Constitution of the Roman Republic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ancient Rome
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The constitution of the Roman Republic was a set of unwritten norms and customs, which together with various written laws,[1] guided the manner by which the Roman Republic was governed. The constitution emerged out of that of the Roman kingdom, evolved over the almost five hundred years of the Republic, and was transformed into the constitution of the Roman Empire.[2]
The Roman republican constitution can be divided into three main branches:[3]
the Assemblies, composed of the people, which served as the supreme repository of political power and had the authority to elect magistrates, accept or reject laws, administer justice, and declare war or peace;[4]
the Senate, which advised the magistrates and the state,[5] acting primarily not on legal authority per se, but rather with its influence, and
the magistrates, elected by the people to govern the Republic in their name, holding religious, military, and judicial powers, along with the right to preside over and call upon the assemblies.[6]
A complex set of checks and balances developed between these three branches. For example, the assemblies theoretically held all power, but were called and governed by the magistrates, who, controlling discussion, exercised dominating influence over them.[7] Similarly, to check the power of the magistrates, each magistrate could veto one of their colleagues and the plebeians elected tribunes who could intercede and veto the actions of a magistrate.[8]
The Republic's constitution slowly evolved over time. Starting from a period of patrician domination, the Conflict of the Orders eventually granted plebeian citizens equal political rights, while also creating the tribunate to check patrician power and empowering the Plebeian Council, an assembly composed of the plebeians of Rome, with full legislative authority.[9]
The late Republic saw an increase in the centralisation of power into the hands of provincial governors,[10] the use of military power to enforce political changes (e.g. the Sullan dictatorship),[11] and the use of violence, combined with exploitation of the suitably bribed or intimidated 'sovereign' assemblies, to grant supreme authority to victorious commanders.[12] The increasing legitimisation of violence and centralisation of authority into fewer and fewer men would, with the collapse of trust in the Republic's institutions,[12] put it on a path to civil war and its transformation into the autocratic Roman Empire.
Contents
[hide]
1 Development of the constitution
2 The Assemblies
2.1 Procedure
2.2 Assembly types
3 Senate
4 Executive magistrates
4.1 Ordinary magistrates
4.2 Extraordinary magistrates
5 Constitutional instability
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
9 Further reading
9.1 Primary sources
Development of the constitution[edit]
Main articles: History of the Roman Constitution and History of the Constitution of the Roman Republic
The "Capitoline Brutus", a bust of Lucius Junius Brutus (d. 509 BC), traditionally the first consul of the Republic, dated to the 4th or 3rd centuries BC
The early republican constitution was dominated by the patricians, who monopolised all control of the magistracies, the Senate, and the voting blocs of the assemblies. Generally, it slowly developed with a tendency towards greater popular representation at the expense of the patrician class.[13] The main historical sources for the origins of the Roman political system, Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, relied heavily on the Roman annalists, who supplemented what little written history existed with oral history. This lack of evidence poses problems for the reliability of the traditional account of the republic's origins.[14]
According to this traditional account, Rome had been ruled by a succession of kings. The Romans believed that this era, that of the Roman kingdom, began in 753 BC and ended in 510 BC. After the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the Republic, the people of Rome began electing two consuls each year.[15] According to the consular fasti, a list of the consuls going back to the foundation of the Republic, the first consuls were chosen in 509 BC.[16]
Some scholars doubt this traditional account, arguing instead that the monarchy evolved into a government led by elected magistrates.[17] Remnants of the monarchy, however, were reflected in republican institutions, such as the religious office of rex sacrorum ("king of the sacred") and the interregnum (a period of time presided over by an interrex when the offices of consul, praetor, and dictator were all vacant).[18] There, is, however, certainly evidence that the early Republic was a time of violent change, with the word rex carrying the same connotations as tyrant and laws which declared forfeit the life and property of any man who plotted to install himself as a king or tyrant.[17]
The first assemblies of the Republic emerged during the Kingdom, with their use to ratify regal elections and the repurposing of the comitia centuriata to elect the first consuls.[17] This regime was dominated by the patricians, and the sources on the early Republic overwhelmingly focus on the conflicts between the patricians and the plebs, in what is known as the Conflict of the Orders.[19]
The early years of the Republic were a time of external strife and periodic popular unrest. In 494 BC, under harsh measures from patrician creditors, during a military campaign, the plebeians under arms seceded to the Mons Sacer outside the city and refused to fight in the campaign without political concessions. With the pressure of an external threat, the patricians were forced to create the office of plebeian tribune (Latin: tribuni plebis) who were declared sacrosanct,[19] i.e. that they were declared inviolable and that anyone could be summarily executed for violation of the sanctity of his person.[20] This was the basis of the tribune's ability to veto (literally translated as "I forbid") any political act or to protect any individual from an injustice committed by a magistrate, known as intercessio and auxilium, respectively.[21] The people gave the tribunes, whose number is unclear,[19] two assistants known as plebeian aediles.[22]
Later, again under pressure from the plebs, a political compromise was reached in which the consuls and tribunes would give place to a commission of ten men, the decemviri, who would be empowered to publish a code of laws for all Rome.[23] According to Livy, it codified all public and private law, but however, its promulgation did not grant further political rights to the plebs, as it enshired into the tables a law banning intermarriage between plebeians and patricians.[24] With a short attempt to establish a tyranny by the decemviri, they were overthrown by the second secession of the army, restoring the old republic and preventing the creation of a new constitution based on the ten-man commission.[25]
In 446 BC, quaestors, administrators with wide terms of reference, were first elected; and the office of censor was created to administer the census in 443 BC.[25][26] However, the creation of the censors also was concurrent with the practice of electing military tribunes with consular authority, which, while open to the plebs, stalled efforts to reform the consulate itself.[27]
In 367 BC, plebeians were allowed to stand for the consulship, and this implicitly opened both the censorship as well as the dictatorship to plebeians.[28] Around this time, the practice of electing military tribunes with consular authority was dropped. In 366 BC, in an effort by the patricians to reassert their influence over the magisterial offices, two new offices were created. These two offices, the praetorship and the curule aedileship (so-called because its holder, like consuls and praetors, had the right to sit in a curule seat),[29] were at first open only to patricians, but within a generation they were open to plebeians as well.[22]
Beginning around the year 350 BC, the senators and the plebeian tribunes began to grow closer.[10] The Senate began giving tribunes more power, and the tribunes began to feel indebted to the Senate.[10] As the tribunes and the senators grew closer, plebeian senators began to routinely secure the office of tribune for members of their own families.[30] Also, this period saw the enacting of the plebiscitum Ovinium, which transferred the power to appoint new senators from the consuls to the censors. This law also required the censors to appoint any newly elected magistrate to the Senate,[31] which probably resulted in a significant increase in the number of plebeian senators.[32]
As the privileged status of the old patrician elite eroded over time, a plebeian aristocracy developed whose status was theoretically based on merit and popular election rather than birth.[32][33] Because patricians were ineligible to run for plebeian offices, the new plebeian aristocracy actually had more opportunities for advancement than their patrician counterparts.[34] Over time distinctions between patricians and plebeian aristocrats became less important, giving rise to a new "patricio-plebeian aristocracy" termed the nobilitas.[32]
In 287 BC, the plebeians again seceded. To end the secession, the lex Hortensia was passed, which required that plebiscites, laws passed by the Plebeian Council, be binding on the whole Roman people.[13] The Hortensian law resolved the last great political question of the earlier era; the electoral and legislative sovereignty of the assemblies was confirmed and would remain part of the constitution until the demise of the Republic.[13] As a whole, the outcome of the political struggles of the early republic was to eliminate the privileged status of patricians in the constitution and grant the plebs recognition of their own officers.[33] The institution of the Senate was also now arguably stronger, as it became a repository of former magistrates rather than a body of hereditary nobles.[33]
The Assemblies[edit]
Main article: Legislative Assemblies of the Roman Republic
Further information: Roman assemblies
Chart showing the checks and balances of the Constitution of the Roman Republic
In Roman constitutional law, the assemblies are a sovereign authority, with the power to enact or reject any law, confer any magistracies, and make any decision.[4] In fact, with a single law, they held the authority to override the norms and precedents of the Republic as well as ancient laws long unchanged.[35] There are two necessary components to any assembly: (1) the convening magistrate and (2) the citizens in the assembly itself. Assemblies did not participate or discuss matters laid before them, they heard the speakers put forth by the presiding officer. And after such discussion, the presiding officer could call for a direct up or down vote.[36] Without a magistrate, there would be nobody to legally call upon the assembly; and without the citizens, there is naught but a magistrate.
Assemblies did not consist of the whole Roman people (Latin: populus Romanus), not only were there restrictions on the vote in that only adult male citizens were permitted to participate. Until the Social War around 90 BC, foreigners were prohibited from voting as well.[37] It can be argued, however, that the Assembly was more a representative group of Romans rather than a simple direct democracy.[38]
Procedure[edit]
There were three types of gatherings, the comitia, the concilium, and the contio or conventio. The first two were formal gatherings where legal decisions were made. The first, the comitia (or comitiatus), was an assembly of all Roman citizens convened to take a legal action, such as enacting laws, electing magistrates, and trying judicial cases.[38][39] The second type of legislative meeting was the council (Latin: concilium), which was a gathering of a specific group of citizens. For example, the concilium Plebis, or Plebeian council, was for meetings of plebeians only.[40]
The third type of gathering, the convention (Latin: contio or conventio), was an unofficial forum for communication where citizens gathered to hear public announcements and arguments debated in speeches as well to witness the examination or execution of criminals. In contrast to the formal assembly or council, no legal decisions were made by the convention.[40] Voters met in conventions to deliberate prior to meeting in assemblies or councils to vote.[41]
Assemblies and councils operated according to established procedures overseen by the augurs. They could only be convened by magistrates, and citizens only voted on matters proposed by the presiding magistrate.[4][40] Over the years, laws were passed which mandated a written ballot, attempted to reduce voter intimidation, and established procedures to watch over voting and prevent voter fraud.[42] For elections, it was not a matter of who received the most votes, but rather who could first be approved by a majority of the voting blocs.[43] All votes had to be completed within a single day and had to be done again if interrupted or abandoned.[44]
Assembly types[edit]
Roman citizens were organized into three types of voting units: curiae, centuria, and tribus or tribes. These corresponded to three different kinds of assemblies: the Curiate Assembly, the Centuriate Assembly, and the Tribal Assembly. Each unit (curia, century or tribe) cast one vote before their assembly.[43] The majority of individual votes in any century, tribe, or curia decided how that unit voted.[43]
The Curiate assembly (Latin: comitia curiata) traditionally dates to the early monarchy, from 30 divisions of the city made by Romulus.[44] By the middle Republic, it served only a symbolic purpose. At some point, the 30 curiae ceased to actually meet and were instead represented by 30 lictors. This assembly had authority over some elements of family law and ratified the imperium of elected magistrates and promagistrates through a lex curiata de imperio.[44] In the realm of family law, it was presided over by the pontifex maximus.[45] However, there was considerable debate in the late Republic on whether or not a magistrate's election actually required ratification by the curiae,[46] and by 212 BC, the Senate refrained from enforcing this quirk of precedent.[47]
The Centuriate assembly (Latin: comitia centuriata) was formed under the monarchy, and widely seen by the ancients as a means of allotting voting privileges in proportion to military duties demanded of the citizenry,[48] disproportionately granting voting power to the richest in society, as at the time of its formation, the wealthiest were also expected to contribute the most to the military.[48] By the middle Republic, the connection between voting power and military service had long ceased, turning into a system to suppress the voting power of the poor.[49] Because of its military roots, it could only be called into session by a magistrate holding imperium,.[45] Originally divided into 193 voting blocs, these blocs were further subdivided into five classes and a class of equites by wealth, each further subdivided by age into a junior and senior bloc. The first class and the equites held 98 of the 193 voting blocs, an absolute majority.[50] This was later reformed around 241 BC, into an assembly of 373 voting blocs with each class having the same number of votes, though the wealth requirements necessarily meant that the wealthier classes were composed of fewer people.[51] The body was primarily called for the election of consuls, praetors, and censors;[52] while it could hear legislation, trials, and only it could declare an offensive war,[53] these were increasingly rare by the second century BC.[52]
The Tribal assembly (Latin: comitia tributa) dates from time immemorial, as no ancient historian mentions its establishment.[54] In the early Republic, there were four urban tribes and 17 rural tribes.[52] In 241 BC fourteen rural tribes were added, bringing the total to thirty-five.[52] The 'tribes' were not ethnic or kinship groups, but rather a district to which people were assigned.[55] A citizen's tribe was inherited from his father, and only changed upon adoption or reallocation in the census;[56] over time, this meant that tribal affiliation had little relationship to a citizen's home or even place of birth.[57] The vast majority of legislation was enacted in the comitia tributa,[48] which also elected quaestors, curule aediles, and military tribunes.[58][59]
The Plebeian council (Latin: concilium plebis) was identical to the Tribal assembly with one key exception: only plebeians had the power to vote in it.[60] It elected the plebeian tribunes and aediles, and later, various other minor posts.[61] It also had the ability to enact laws called plebiscites, which in the early Republic, only applied to plebs, but after the passage of lex Hortensia, applied to all Romans.[13] In the early Republic, the council also had some judicial functions, but by the middle Republic, much of these functions were transferred to permanent courts.[62]
Senate[edit]
Main article: Senate of the Roman Republic
Further information: Roman Senate
Artist's impression of the Senate in session, Cicero delivering his oration Catiline, from a 19th-century fresco.
The Senate was the predominant political institution in the Roman Republic. The Senate's authority derived primarily from custom and tradition.[5] It was also one of the few places in which free political discussion could take place.[63] The Senate's principal role was as an advisory council to the consuls on matters of foreign and military policy, and it exercised a great deal of influence over consular decision-making.[64]
During the Kingdom, the Senate consisted of persons selected to the position by the King, a power which the consuls inherited after the end of the monarchy.[65] In the very early republic, senators were primarily chosen due to their birth,[66] but by the late Republic, and especially after Sulla, membership in the Senate became predicated on having previously held a magistracy.[67] In the late 4th century BC, the consul's power to control Senate membership was transferred to the censor,[65] exercised with considerable discretion, until laws passed in the late Republic formalised some kind of hearing before censorial decisions.[68] In line with the censor's duty to protect morals, senators were required to be of good character, not have been found guilty of a criminal offence, and not be a person tainted with ignominy (e.g. bankrupts, former gladiators, prostitutes, or deserters).[69] Before the time of Augustus, there is no evidence of any kind of property qualification.[70] The Senate consisted of around 300 prior to the dictatorship of Sulla, but after his dictatorship, it consisted of somewhere over 500 men.[66]
A decree from the Senate was called senatus consultum (plural senatus consulta). While this was formally "advice" from the Senate to a magistrate, stating the senate's position on some topic, the senatus consulta were usually obeyed by the magistrates.[71] If a senatus consultum conflicted with a law that was passed by a popular assembly, the law overrode the senatus consultum.[72]
Meetings could take place either inside or outside of the formal boundary of the city (the pomerium), though the official meeting place, or curia was at the centre of the Roman forum. The president of the Senate was normally one of the consuls, but it could be called to meet by any of the praetors or tribunes, both of whom had the authority to call the Senate, though praetors rarely did so unless the consuls were away and the tribunes almost never did so.[73] Meetings were suffused in religious ritual. Temples were a preferred meeting site and auspices would be taken before the meeting could commence.[68]
The presiding consul began each meeting with a speech on an issue,[74] and then referred the issue to the senators, who discussed the matter by order of seniority.[74] Unimportant matters could be voted on by a voice vote or by a show of hands, while important votes resulted in a physical division of the house,[75] with senators voting by taking a place on either side of the chamber. Any vote was always between a proposal and its negative.[76]
Since all meetings had to end by nightfall, a senator could talk a proposal to death (a filibuster) if he could keep the debate going until nightfall.[74] Any proposed motion could be vetoed by a tribune,[34] and if it was not vetoed, it was then turned into a final senatus consultum. Each senatus consultum was transcribed into a document by the presiding magistrate, and then deposited into the aerarium.[77]
Executive magistrates[edit]
Main articles: Roman Magistrates and Executive Magistrates of the Roman Republic
The toga praetexta, the dress of magistrates from the aedile to the consul.[78]
Magistrates were elected officials, serving as representatives of the people for the conduct of public business.[79] There are two broad categories of magistrates, the ordinary magistrates such as the consuls, products of the republican constitution, and the extraordinary magistrates such as the dictators, remnants of the monarchial constitution and reserved primarily for emergencies.[79] Each magistrate held potestas, the authority to exercise the office's powers conferred by custom or statute.[80] The most powerful magistrates, such as the extraordinary magistrates, consuls, and praetors, held a kind of authority known as imperium, the authority to command in a military or judicial sense.[81]
Ordinary magistrates[edit]
Of the ordinary magistrates, there are two further divisions: the higher magistrates, composed of consuls, praetors, their prorogued equivalents, and the censors; and the lower magistrates, composed of the tribunes, aediles, quaestors, and other minor positions.[3] All higher magistrates were elected by the Centuriate Assembly.
The most powerful ordinary magistrate was the consul, of which there were two,[a] who served for the period of one year.[83] These consuls had the authority to call assemblies of the people.[84] In the early Republic, they held judicial duties until these responsibilities were moved to the praetors and later to permanent courts; similarly, they held financial responsibilities until these duties were transferred to the quaestors.[85] The consuls also held vague religious duties inherited from the kings,[86] along with their more important military functions, serving as the commander-in-chief of Rome's armies.
The next magistrate was the praetor, who increased in number over the course of the Republic,[b] and were primarily judges.[88] In the later Republic, praetors were increasingly sent out to the provinces to serve as provincial governors, especially as prorogued magistrates.[88] In Rome, there were primarily two kinds of praetor, the praetor urbanus and the praetor peregrinus, in charge of suits involving citizens and foreigners, respectively.[89] They were also assigned, in the late Republic, to various permanent courts with specific criminal jurisdiction.[c][90] When the consuls were away, the praetors were empowered to command armies and serve in the place of the consuls, and thus also held authority to call assemblies and introduce legislation[91]
Over time, as Rome's empire grew, the two annual consuls ceased to be enough to command its many armies in the field or administer its many provinces. To solve this problem, it became normal to prorogue the authority of current consuls and praetors beyond their normal terms so they could continue to command in the field.[92] Over time, however, with increasing need for competent generals and administrators, prorogation of magistrates became the norm;[93] and the device was used, increasingly by the assemblies, to grant imperium to popular politicians.[93]
The censor was appointed specifically to conduct the census. This involved counting the Roman people, assessing their property, and assigning them to their appropriate centuria and tribus.[93] They were elected around every four or five years.[94] After the passage of lex Ovinia, the censors were also transferred the power from the consuls to control membership in the Senate.[66] Along with the main responsibility of dealing with the census, the censors also dealt with property disputes, public contracts, and the management of public lands.[95]
Gaius Gracchus, tribune of the people, presiding over the Plebeian Council, in an artist's impression from 1799.
The lower magistrates included the tribune of the plebs, who was elected by the Plebeian Council, and the aediles and quaestors, elected by the Tribal Assembly. The tribune was sacrosanct, i.e. declared inviolable, with summary execution for violators of his sanctity.[20] It was on this basis that the tribune could veto any political act or to protect any individual from an injustice committed by a magistrate, known as intercessio and auxilium, respectively.[21] This power was used increasingly to block public business in the later republic, and was only limited in that a tribune could not oppose the will of the people as a whole.[d][97]
The aediles were in charge of various municipal tasks, e.g. the upkeep of temples, streets, and the water-supply.[98] They were also responsible for public games,[98] and some aspects of police work in the city.[99] The quaestors were elected administrators, which could be put in charge of the treasury, the granaries, or various administrative postings in Italy, with the consuls, or in the provinces.[100] In the late Republic, election to the quaestorship became the basis for a life appointment to the Senate.[101]
Extraordinary magistrates[edit]
There were two extraordinary magistrates: the dictator and the magister equitum (literally: master of horse).[102] Dictators were selected by the consuls[103] to resolve some crisis threatening the republic, for a term of around six months, before they were expected to resign and return their powers to the ordinary magistrates.[104] The magister equitum, was then appointed by the dictator as his lieutenant.[e][105] The dictatorship was only used in the early and middle Republic, before falling out of fashion after the end of the Second Punic War, before being revived during the time of Sulla as an extraconstitutional measure, not to defeat some foe or quell unrest, but rather, to bring stability to the political order.[f][104][92]
The dictator had maius imperium and total authority to command the state,[103] however, since the dictator generally tried to maintain order, this did not conflict with the responsibilities of the other magistrates, who continued to function during a dictatorship.[103][107] The magister equitum had similar plenary authority, with parallel and somewhat subordinate authority to the dictator.[105]
In the middle and later Republic, with the office of dictator falling out of fashion, the need for dictatorial authority was not granted to some extraordinary magistrate, but rather, to the consuls, through a senatus consultum ultimum, or final decree.[92] This decree took the form of a recommendation from the Senate to the consuls to take whatever actions were necessary to defend the republic.[g][109][108] Due to its general vagueness, however, its use was hotly contested in the late Republic and is still debated among scholars today, as in a strict legal sense, the final decree did not grant legal authority to the consuls, but rather, served as an urging from the Senate to ignore the laws to protect the state.[110]
Constitutional instability[edit]
A bust of Sulla, the first dictator and general to march on Rome of the late Republic,[111] who marched on Rome with his troops in 88 and 82 BC.[112]
After the Second Punic War, there was a great increase in income inequality. While the middle class was drafted to serve in increasingly long campaigns, their farms and homesteads fell into bankruptcy.[113] And with Rome's great military victories, vast numbers of slaves were imported into Italy.[113] In the middle of the second century BC, the tribunate of Tiberius Gracchus led to a breakup of the long-standing norms of the republican constitution.[114] Graccus' legislation effectively established a parallel administration challenging the socio-political power of the old aristocracy and establishing a precedent that the popular assemblies could vote themselves whatever they wanted.[114] His younger brother, Gaius Gracchus, further challenged the Senate's political preeminence, by threatening it with new judicial procedures.[114] The Senate's violent reaction against both the Gracchi, which led to their deaths, also served to legitimise the use of violence for political ends.[115]
Later populist attempts to introduce similarly broad-reaching redistributive legislation enlisted the support of Gaius Marius, a great general, which was then elected to a string of unprecedented consecutive consulships,[116] which also violated Roman law, which mandated a decade between consulships, further weakening the primarily norms-based constitution. The attempts to recall the general Sulla led to his marching on Rome in 88 BC, installing two new consuls and forcing major reforms of the constitution at sword-point,[116] before leaving a campaign in the East.[117] This further strengthened the precedent that the Republic's constitution was malleable.
When Sulla returned in 82 BC, he was made dictator for the purpose of bringing order to the Republic's politics.[92] Sulla attempted to concentrate political power into the Senate and the aristocratic assemblies, whilst trying to reduce the obstructive and legislative powers of the tribune and Plebeian council.[118] However, his changes were not to last. With significant popular unrest, the tribunate's powers were quickly restored by 70 BC.[11] Sulla passed legislation to make it illegal to march on Rome as he had,[119] but having just shown that doing so would bring no personal harm so long as one was victorious, this had little effect.[11]
A depiction of the death of Caesar, from The Death of Caesar, Jean-Léon Gérôme, painted in 1867
Over the course of the late Republic, formerly authoritative institutions lost their credibility and authority.[12] For example, the Sullan reforms to the Senate strongly split the aristocratic class between those who stayed in the city and those who rose to high office abroad, further increasing class divides between Romans, even at the highest levels.[120] Furthermore, the dominance of the military in the late Republic, along with stronger ties between a general and his troops, caused by their longer terms of service together and the troops' reliance on that general to provide for their retirements,[115] along with an obstructionist central government, meant a huge number of malcontent soldiers willing to take up arms against the state. Adding in the institutionalisation of violence as a means to obstruct or force political change (e.g. the deaths of the Gracchi and Sulla's dictatorship, respectively),[115] the Republic was caught in an ever more violent and anarchic struggle between the Senate, assemblies at Rome, and the promagistrates. It would only be resolved by civil war,[12] a war which the promagistrate governors and their troops would win, and in doing so, collapse the Republic.
See also[edit]
Book: Constitution of the Roman Republic
Roman Law
Cursus honorum
Byzantine Senate
Pontifex Maximus
Princeps senatus
Interrex
Acta Senatus
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ This stayed the case until the late Republic, a time when the constitution was increasingly ignored, when Pompey was appointed by the Senate as sole consul for 52 BC to quell riots in Rome.[82]
Jump up ^ In the middle Republic, there were one or two. By the late Republic, during the dictatorship of Caesar, this had ballooned to 18.[87]
Jump up ^ One court, specifically mentioned by Lintott, is the quaestio perpetua de repetundis, set up by lex Calpurnia to investigate extortion by Roman magistrates.[90]
Jump up ^ An example of this is Tiberius Gracchus' securing of the removal of Marcus Octavius for opposition to his land reform policies, by vote of the people.[96]
Jump up ^ Lintott writes, 'Once chosen, he could not be deposed, but his office ceased with that of his superior. In many respects he might function in parallel to the dictator, like a second consul, rather than as a direct subordinate. However, more spectacular stories about the office show that his subordination was a major issue'.[105]
Jump up ^ The differences between the early dictatorships and the later dictatorships is quite clear. The lex Valeria of 82 BC created Sulla dictator for the revision of the constitution, with practically unlimited powers.[106] Caesar took a similar dictatorship in the early 40s BC as well. These were fundamentally political posts, with the right to name magistrates, change the membership of the Senate, exercise plenary judicial authority, and control public lands.[106]
Jump up ^ For clarification, Lintott explains that, 'It was not clear, for example, whether it was simple recommending a limited use of force to restore the rule of law or the extermination of those who are thought to have disturbed the peace'.[108]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Lintott, Andrew (2003). The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-19-926108-3.
Jump up ^ Abbott, Frank Frost (1963). A History and Descriptions of Roman Political Institutions (3 ed.). New York: Noble Offset Printers Inc. p. 270.
^ Jump up to: a b Lintott 2003, p. vii.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 40.
^ Jump up to: a b Lintott 2003, p. 66.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, pp. 157-165.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 202.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 155.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, pp. 121-122.
^ Jump up to: a b c Abbott 1963, p. 44.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 212.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Lintott 2003, p. 213.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Lintott 2003, p. 38.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 27-28.
Jump up ^ Holland, Tom (2005). Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic. Random House Books. p. 2. ISBN 1-4000-7897-0.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 27.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 31.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 28.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 32.
^ Jump up to: a b Abbott 1963, pp. 196-197.
^ Jump up to: a b Lintott 2003, p. 33.
^ Jump up to: a b Holland 2005, p. 5.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 30.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 34.
^ Jump up to: a b Lintott 2003, p. 35.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 37.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 34.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 42.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 36.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 45.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 46.
^ Jump up to: a b c Abbott 1963, p. 47.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 39.
^ Jump up to: a b Holland 2005, p. 26.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 63.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 46.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 41.
^ Jump up to: a b Lintott 2003, p. 42.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 251.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 43.
Jump up ^ Taylor, Lily Ross (1966). Roman Voting Assemblies: From the Hannibalic War to the Dictatorship of Caesar. The University of Michigan Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-472-08125-X.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, pp. 47-48.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 48.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 49.
^ Jump up to: a b Abbott 1963, p. 253.
Jump up ^ Botsworth, George Willis (1909). The Roman Assemblies. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, Inc. p. 190.
Jump up ^ Botsworth 1909, p. 192.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 55.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 56.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 21.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, pp. 74-76.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Lintott 2003, p. 61.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 257.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 259.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 50.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, pp. 250-251.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 51.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, pp. 260-261.
Jump up ^ Taylor 1966, p. 7.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, pp. 262.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, pp. 263.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 74.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 86.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 235.
^ Jump up to: a b Abbott 1963, p. 220.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 68.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 222.
^ Jump up to: a b Lintott 2003, p. 72.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 71-72.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 71.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 3.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 4.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 226.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 78.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, pp. 82-83.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 83.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 230.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 165.
^ Jump up to: a b Abbott 1963, p. 151.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 95.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 96.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 114.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 156.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 176.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, pp. 177,187.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 177.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 188.
^ Jump up to: a b Abbott 1963, p. 187.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 107.
^ Jump up to: a b Lintott 2003, p. 108.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 109.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Lintott 2003, p. 113.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 115.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 191.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, pp. 119-120.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 95.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 128.
^ Jump up to: a b Lintott 2003, p. 131.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 132.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 133.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 136.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 110.
^ Jump up to: a b c Abbott 1963, p. 182.
^ Jump up to: a b Abbott 1963, p. 183.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 112.
^ Jump up to: a b Abbott 1963, p. 218.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 111.
^ Jump up to: a b Lintott 2003, p. 90.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 242.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 92.
Jump up ^ Ridley, R. T. (2016). "The Fall of the Roman Republic". Agora. 51 (1): 66. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, pp. 103-104.
^ Jump up to: a b Abbott 1963, p. 77.
^ Jump up to: a b c Lintott 2003, p. 209.
^ Jump up to: a b c Ridley 2016, p. 66.
^ Jump up to: a b Lintott 2003, p. 210.
Jump up ^ Abbott 1963, p. 103.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, pp. 210-211.
Jump up ^ Lintott 2003, p. 211.
Jump up ^ Steel, Catherine (2014). "The Roman Senate and the post-Sullan res publica". Historia : Zeitschrift für alte Geschichte. 63 (3): 328. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Further reading[edit]
Byrd, Robert (1995). The Senate of the Roman Republic. U.S. Government Printing Office Senate Document 103-23.
Cicero, Marcus Tullius (1841). The Political Works of Marcus Tullius Cicero: Comprising his Treatise on the Commonwealth; and his Treatise on the Laws. vol. 1 (Translated from the original, with Dissertations and Notes in Two Volumes By Francis Barham, Esq ed.). London: Edmund Spettigue.
Goldsworthy, Adrian (2010). In the Name of Rome: The Men Who Won the Roman Empire. Orion Books, Ltd. ISBN 0-297-86401-7.
Ihne, Wilhelm (1853). Researches Into the History of the Roman Constitution. William Pickering.
Johnston, Harold Whetstone (1891). Orations and Letters of Cicero: With Historical Introduction, An Outline of the Roman Constitution, Notes, Vocabulary and Index. Scott, Foresman and Company.
Mommsen, Theodor (1888). Roman Constitutional Law.
Polybius (1823). The General History of Polybius: Translated from the Greek. Vol 2 (Fifth ed.). Oxford: Printed by W. Baxter.
Polybius. The Histories; Volumes 9–13. Cambridge Ancient History.
Tighe, Ambrose (1886). The Development of the Roman Constitution. D. Apple & Co.
Von Fritz, Kurt (1975). The Theory of the Mixed Constitution in Antiquity. Columbia University Press, New York.
Primary sources[edit]
Cicero's De Re Publica, Book Two
Rome at the End of the Punic Wars: An Analysis of the Roman Government; by Polybius
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