Best Associate Justice

Louis D. Brandeis served as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1916 until his retirement in 1939. He was a pivotal figure in early 20th-century American law, particularly recognized for his advocacy regarding privacy rights and free speech. As the first Jewish justice appointed to the...

William J. Brennan Jr. served on the U.S. Supreme Court for over thirty-four years, appointed by President Eisenhower in 1956. He was a prominent figure within the court's liberal wing during the mid to late 20th century. Brennan’s legal interpretations shaped landmark decisions concerning civil rig...

Robert Jackson was a federal judge best known for his role as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1941 to 1954. Appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, he gained prominence prosecuting Nazi leaders at Nuremberg following World War II. His legal expertise and involvement in these significant tria...

John Marshall Harlan I served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1877 to 1911. He is notable for his unwavering opposition to racial discrimination within the court. Harlan’s powerful dissent in *Plessy v. Ferguson* argued against the constitutionality of segregation, establishing him...

Joseph Story was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1812 until his death in 1845. He played a significant role in early American constitutional interpretation, particularly through his widely-used Commentaries on the Constitution. Story’s legal scholarship influenced generations of lawye...

Stephen G. Breyer is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1994 until his retirement in 2022. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, Breyer was generally associated with the liberal wing of the court. His jurisprudence was heavily influenced by...

Anthony M. Kennedy served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1988 to 2018. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, he previously served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. During his tenure on the Supreme Court, he was often the pivotal swin...

John Paul Stevens was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1975 until his retirement in 2010. Appointed by President Gerald Ford, he became the third-longest-serving justice in the Court's history. Initially considered a moderate co...

Lewis F. Powell Jr. served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1972 to 1987 after being appointed by President Richard Nixon. During his tenure, he was often considered a moderate swing vote on the court. Prior to his appointment, he authored the 1971 Powell Memorandum, a confiden...

David H. Souter (1939-2025) served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1990 to 2009. Appointed by President George H.W. Bush, Souter was expected to be a conservative justice based on his background and the recommendations of New Hampshire Republican officials. How...

Neil M. Gorsuch is an American jurist who has served as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court since 2017. President Donald Trump nominated him to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, and the Senate confirmed him that April. Gorsuch previously served on t...

Wiley B. Rutledge served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1943 until his death in 1949, appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Before his elevation to the Court, he served as dean of the University of Iowa College of Law and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...

James Wilson (1742–1798) was a Scottish-born American lawyer and one of the six original justices of the United States Supreme Court, nominated by President George Washington in 1789. He represented Pennsylvania at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where he advocated for a strong national gover...

Stephen J. Field served as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1863 to 1897, appointed by Abraham Lincoln. His 34-year tenure was the second longest in the Court's history at the time of his retirement. Field became known for expansive interpretations of economic liberty and property ri...

John Marshall Harlan II was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971 after being appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was the grandson of John Marshall Harlan, another Supreme Court Justice who served from 1877 to 1911. O...

Arthur J. Goldberg was an American statesman and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1962 to 1965. Appointed by President John F. Kennedy, Goldberg had previously been a prominent labor lawyer and Secretary of Labor. He resigned from the Supreme Court at the requ...

William Paterson was an American statesman and jurist who represented New Jersey at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, where he presented the New Jersey Plan favoring equal representation of states in the national legislature. He later served as governor of New Jersey and as an associate justice...

James Iredell (1751–1799) was one of the original Associate Justices of the United States Supreme Court. Nominated by President George Washington in 1790, he served on the high court until his death at the age of 48. Iredell is historically recognized for his dissenting opinion in the landmark 1793...

Ketanji Brown Jackson is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court since 2022, becoming the first Black woman to sit on the Court. President Joe Biden nominated her after she had served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Distri...

Owen J. Roberts served as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1930 to 1945 after being appointed by President Herbert Hoover. Before joining the Court, he was a prominent Philadelphia lawyer and a special prosecutor in the Teapot Dome investigations. His vote in West Coast H...

Samuel A. Alito Jr. is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 2006. Nominated by President George W. Bush, he previously served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Throughout his tenure on the Supreme C...

Associate Justice appointed by Nixon in 1970, best known for authoring the majority opinion in Roe v. Wade (1973) establishing a constitutional right to abortion.

One of the six original justices appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by George Washington in 1789, serving until 1810 as the longest-tenured of the founding-era justices.

Associate Justice appointed by George W. Bush in 2006, who authored the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade's abortion precedent.

Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 2018, appointed by Donald Trump after a contentious Senate confirmation hearing involving sexual misconduct allegations.

James Byrnes served briefly as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1941–1942) before resigning to become Director of Economic Stabilization during World War II, later serving as Secretary of State.

Associate Justice (1922–1938) and one of the conservative 'Four Horsemen' who voted to strike down New Deal legislation; born in England and raised in Utah.

Associate Justice (1949–1967) appointed by Truman, who wrote the majority opinion in Mapp v. Ohio (1961) applying the exclusionary rule to state courts.

Edward Sanford was a U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1923–1930) who authored the majority opinion in Gitlow v. New York (1925), which began incorporating the Bill of Rights to the states.