The Justices Flashcards
Who is the current Chief Justice?
Who appointed him?
Roberts
Appointed by GWB in 2005
Who is the swing justice and who appointed him?
Kennedy
Reagan in 1988
Who is the most liberal associate justice and who appointed them?
RBG
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Clinton in 1993
Who is the most conservative justice and who appointed them?
Thomas
GHWB in 1991
Who are the two Obama appointments?
Sotomayor 2009
Kagan 2010
Who has Trump appointed to the Supreme Court?
Neil Gorsuch 2017
Who are the two GWB appointments?
Alito 2006
Roberts 2005
Who are the two Clinton appointments?
RBG
Breyer 1994
What order of liberal to conservative do the judges lie in?
Ginsburg Sotomayor Kagan Breyer Kennedy Roberts Alito Gorsuch Thomas
When was the Warren court?
1953-69
When was the Burger court?
1969-86
When was the Rehnquist court?
1986-2005
When was the Roberts court?
2005-present
How many justices are there? Do there have to be this number?
9
No congress could change it but this would set a dangerous precedent
How can justices be removed?
They have their jobs for life
but
Can retire
Resign
Or be Impeached by a 2/3 majority in the senate
How was Chief Justice Warren described by Eisenhower, the president who appointed him?
‘The biggest damn fool mistake I ever made’
Warren was a lot more liberal than Eisenhower expected. He ruled on Brown v the Board for example
What was the Warren Court like?
Governed by loose constructionism and judicial activism.
Belief that the court was an equal branch of government and had as much right to shape the USA
The Supreme Court at this time led the way for progressive change
What Burger court rulings were loose constructionist?
Roe v Wade 1973
Swann b Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of Education 1971
What Burger court rulings were conservative?
Gregg v Georgia 1976
University of California v Bakke 1978
Has there ever been a Supreme Court impeachment?
No
But Abe Fortas resigned in 1968 rather than face impeachment
How often is Kennedy the swing justice?
In the 2006-7 term of the 24 cases decided 5-4 Kennedy was in the majority in all 24 of them
In this term overall he was in the majority 97% of the time
Hugely influential
Who used to be the swing justice before Kennedy?
Sandra Day O’Connor
are justices party political?
NO not in the conventional sense
