View source for Chief Justice of the United States

{{Short description|Chief judicial officer of the United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = Chief Justice
| body = the United States
| insignia = Seal of the United States Supreme Court.svg
| insigniasize = 145
| insigniacaption = Seal of the Supreme Court
| image = Official roberts CJ.jpg
| incumbent = [[John Roberts]]
| incumbentsince = September 29, 2005
| department = [[Supreme Court of the United States]]
| style = Mr. Chief [[Justice (title)|Justice]]<br />(informal)<br />Your Honor<br />(within court)<br />[[The Honorable]]<br />(formal)
| status = [[Chief justice]]
| member_of = [[Federal judiciary of the United States|Federal judiciary]]<br />[[Judicial Conference]]<br />[[Administrative Office of the United States Courts|Administrative Office of the Courts]]
| seat = [[United States Supreme Court Building|Supreme Court Building]], [[Washington, D.C.]]
| appointer = The [[President of the United States|president]]
| appointer_qualified = with [[United States Senate|Senate]] [[advice and consent]]
| termlength = [[Supreme Court of the United States#Tenure|Life tenure]]
| constituting_instrument = [[Constitution of the United States]]
| formation = {{start date and age|1789|3|4|p=1|br=1}}
| first = [[John Jay]]
| website = {{url|https://www.supremecourt.gov|SupremeCourt.gov}}
| salary = $312,200 USD
}}
{{SCOTUS series}}
The '''chief justice of the United States''' is the chief judge of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] and is the highest-ranking officer of the [[U.S. federal judiciary]]. [[Appointments Clause|Article II, Section 2, Clause 2]] of the [[U.S. Constitution]] grants [[plenary power]] to the [[president of the United States]] to nominate, and, with the [[advice and consent]] of the [[United States Senate]], appoint "Judges of the Supreme Court", who serve until they die, resign, retire, or are [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeached and convicted]]. The existence of a chief justice is only explicit in [[Article One of the United States Constitution#Clause 6: Trial of Impeachment|Article I, Section 3, Clause 6]] which states that the chief justice shall preside over the [[Federal impeachment trial in the United States|impeachment trial]] of the president; this has occurred three times, for [[Andrew Johnson]], [[Bill Clinton]], and for [[Donald Trump]]'s first impeachment.

The chief justice has significant influence in the [[Procedures of the Supreme Court of the United States#Selection of cases|selection of cases for review]], presides when [[oral argument]]s are held, and leads the discussion of cases among the justices. Additionally, when the court renders an opinion, the chief justice, if in the majority, chooses who writes the court's opinion; however, when deciding a case, the chief justice's vote counts no more than that of [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|any other justice]]. 

While nowhere mandated, the [[Oath of office of the President of the United States|presidential oath of office]] is by tradition administered by the chief justice. The chief justice serves as a spokesperson for the federal government's judicial branch and acts as a [[chief administrative officer]] for the federal courts. The chief justice presides over the [[Judicial Conference]] and, in that capacity, appoints the director and deputy director of the [[Administrative Office of the United States Courts|Administrative Office]]. The chief justice is an [[Ex officio member|''ex officio'' member]] of the Board of Regents of the [[Smithsonian Institution]] and, by custom, is elected [[Chancellor (education)|chancellor]] of the board.

Since the Supreme Court was established in 1789, 17 people have served as Chief Justice, beginning with [[John Jay]] (1789–1795). The current chief justice is [[John Roberts]] (since 2005). Five of the 17 chief justices—[[John Rutledge]], [[Edward Douglass White]], [[Charles Evans Hughes]], [[Harlan Fiske Stone]], and [[William Rehnquist]]—served as associate justices prior to becoming chief justice. Additionally, Chief Justice [[William Howard Taft]] had previously served as [[president of the United States]].

==Origin, title and appointment==
The United States Constitution does not explicitly establish an office of the Chief Justice but presupposes its existence with a single reference in Article I, Section 3, Clause 6: "When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside." Nothing more is said in the Constitution regarding the office. [[Article Three of the United States Constitution|Article III, Section 1]], which authorizes the establishment of the Supreme Court, refers to all members of the court simply as "judges". The [[Judiciary Act of 1789]] created the distinctive titles of ''Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States'' and ''Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States''.

In 1866, [[Salmon P. Chase]] assumed the title of ''Chief Justice of the United States,'' and Congress began using the new title in subsequent legislation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rxJlDwAAQBAJ&q=%22chief%20justice%20of%20the%20united%22&pg=PT406|title=The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts|author-link=Joan Biskupic|last=Biskupic|first=Joan|date=March 26, 2019|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=9780465093281|language=en|access-date=October 15, 2020|archive-date=February 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204014705/https://books.google.com/books?id=rxJlDwAAQBAJ&q=%22chief%20justice%20of%20the%20united%22&pg=PT406|url-status=live}}</ref> The first person whose Supreme Court commission contained the modified title was [[Melville Fuller]] in 1888.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fjc.gov/history/administration/administrative-agencies-office-chief-justice-1789-present|title=Administrative Agencies: Office of the Chief Justice, 1789–present|publisher=Federal Judicial Center|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=April 10, 2017|archive-date=December 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231103711/https://www.fjc.gov/history/administration/administrative-agencies-office-chief-justice-1789-present|url-status=live}}</ref> The associate justice title was not altered in 1866 and remains as originally created.

The chief justice, like all [[United States federal judge|federal judges]], is [[Nomination and confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States|nominated by the president and confirmed to office by the U.S. Senate]]. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution specifies that they "shall hold their Offices during good Behavior." This language has been interpreted to mean that judicial appointments are effectively [[Life tenure|for life]] and that once in office, a justice's tenure ends only when the justice dies, retires, resigns, or is removed from office through the impeachment process. Since 1789, 15 presidents have made a total of 22 [[List of nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States|official nominations]] to the position of chief justice.<ref name="fas">{{cite web|last1=McMillion|first1=Barry J.|last2=Rutkus|first2=Denis Steven|date=July 6, 2018|title=Supreme Court Nominations, 1789 to 2017: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33225.pdf|website=fas.org (Federation of American Scientists)|publisher=Congressional Research Service|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=August 7, 2018|archive-date=August 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809152918/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33225.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The salary of the chief justice is set by Congress; as of 2024, the annual salary is $312,200, which is slightly higher than that of associate justices, which is $298,500.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Judicial Compensation|url=https://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/judicial-compensation|access-date=2022-01-18|website=United States Courts|language=en}}</ref> The practice of appointing an individual to serve as Chief Justice is grounded in tradition; while the Constitution mandates that there be a chief justice, it is silent on the subject of how one is chosen and by whom. There is no specific constitutional prohibition against using another method to select the chief justice from among those justices properly appointed and confirmed to the Supreme Court.

Three [[incumbent]] associate justices have been nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate as Chief Justice: Edward Douglass White in 1910, Harlan Fiske Stone in 1941, and William Rehnquist in 1986. A fourth, [[Abe Fortas]], was nominated to the position in 1968 but was not confirmed. As an associate justice does not have to resign their seat on the court in order to be nominated as Chief Justice, Fortas remained an associate justice. Similarly, when Associate Justice [[William Cushing]] was nominated and confirmed as Chief Justice in January 1796 but declined the office, he too remained on the court. Two former associate justices subsequently returned to service on the court as Chief Justice. [[John Rutledge]] was the first. President Washington gave him a [[recess appointment]] in 1795. However, his subsequent nomination to the office was not confirmed by the Senate, and he left office and the court. In 1930, former Associate Justice [[Charles Evans Hughes]] was confirmed as Chief Justice. Additionally, in December 1800, former chief justice John Jay was nominated and confirmed to the position a second time but ultimately declined it, opening the way for the appointment of [[John Marshall]].<ref name="fas" />

==Powers and duties==
[[File:Chief Justices of the United States (Harper's Weekly, December 24, 1864).jpg|thumb|Chief Justices of the United States (''Harper's Weekly'', December 24, 1864)]]
Along with their general responsibilities as a member of the Supreme Court, the chief justice has several unique duties to fulfill.

===Impeachment trials===
Article I, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution stipulates that the chief justice shall [[Presiding Officer of the United States Senate|preside over the Senate]] trial of an [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeached]] president of the United States. Three chief justices have presided over presidential [[Federal impeachment trial in the United States|impeachment trials]]: Salmon P. Chase ([[Impeachment of Andrew Johnson|1868 trial of Andrew Johnson]]), William Rehnquist ([[Impeachment of Bill Clinton|1999 trial of Bill Clinton]]), and John Roberts ([[First impeachment trial of Donald Trump|2020 trial of Donald Trump]]; Roberts declined to preside over Trump's [[Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump|second trial in 2021]], which took place after the end of Trump's presidency. Senate [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|president pro-tempore]] [[Patrick Leahy]] presided).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/01/25/960389715/sen-patrick-leahy-to-preside-over-trumps-senate-impeachment-trial|title=Sen. Patrick Leahy To Preside Over Trump's Senate Impeachment Trial|website=NPR |date=January 25, 2021|accessdate=February 15, 2022|last1=Davis |first1=Susan |last2=Totenberg |first2=Nina }}</ref> All three presidents were acquitted in the Senate. Although the Constitution is silent on the matter, the chief justice would, under Senate rules adopted in 1999 prior to the Clinton trial, preside over the trial of an impeached vice president.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.senate.gov/reference/Index/Impeachment.htm|title=U.S. Senate: Impeachment|access-date=January 15, 2020|archive-date=January 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200113190646/https://www.senate.gov/reference/Index/Impeachment.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDOC-106sdoc2/pdf/CDOC-106sdoc2.pdf|title=Impeachment of President William Jefferson Clinton - Constitutional Provisions; Rules of Procedure and Practice in the Senate When Sitting on Impeachment Trials; Articles of Impeachment Against President William Jefferson Clinton; President Clinton's Answer; and Replication of the House of Representatives|last=Sisco|first=Gary|date=January 13, 1999|website=GovInfo |access-date=February 10, 2020|archive-date=December 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219034113/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CDOC-106sdoc2/pdf/CDOC-106sdoc2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> This rule was established to preclude the possibility of a vice president presiding over their own trial.

===Seniority===
Many of the court's [[Procedures of the Supreme Court of the United States|procedures and inner workings]] are governed by the rules of protocol based on the [[seniority]] of the justices. The chief justice always ranks first in the [[order of precedence]]—regardless of the length of the officeholder's service (even if shorter than that of one or more associate justices). This elevated status has enabled successive chief justices to define and refine both the court's culture and its judicial priorities.

The chief justice sets the agenda for the weekly meetings where the justices review the petitions for [[certiorari]], to decide whether to hear or deny each case. The Supreme Court agrees to hear less than one percent of the cases petitioned to it. While associate justices may append items to the weekly agenda, in practice this initial agenda-setting power of the chief justice has significant influence over the direction of the court. Nonetheless, a chief justice's influence may be limited by circumstances and the associate justices' understanding of [[Jurisprudence|legal principles]]; it is definitely limited by the fact that they have only a single vote of nine on the decision whether to grant or deny certiorari.<ref name=LIICornell>{{cite web|title=Judiciary|publisher=Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School|location=Ithaca, New York|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/judiciary|access-date=May 23, 2017|archive-date=July 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709065109/https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/judiciary|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=UPennLaw>{{cite journal|last1=Cross|first1=Frank B.|last2=Lindquist|first2=Stefanie|date=June 2006|volume=154|issue=6|title=The decisional significance of the Chief Justice|journal=University of Pennsylvania Law Review|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Law School|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|url=https://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/lawreview/articles/volume154/issue6/CrossLindquist154U.Pa.L.Rev.1665(2006).pdf|pages=1665–1707|doi=10.2307/40041349|jstor=40041349|access-date=May 23, 2017|archive-date=April 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412033252/https://www.law.upenn.edu/journals/lawreview/articles/volume154/issue6/CrossLindquist154U.Pa.L.Rev.1665(2006).pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite the chief justice's elevated stature, their vote carries the same legal weight as the vote of each associate justice. Additionally, they have no legal authority to overrule the verdicts or interpretations of the other eight judges or tamper with them.<ref name=LIICornell/> The task of assigning who shall write the opinion for the majority falls to the most senior justice in the majority. Thus, when the chief justice is in the majority, they always assign the opinion.<ref>{{cite book |last=O'Brien |first=David M. |title=Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics |edition=8th |publisher=W. W. Norton |year=2008 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-393-93218-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/stormcentersupre0000obri_a4l4/page/267 267] |url=https://archive.org/details/stormcentersupre0000obri_a4l4/page/267 }}</ref> Early in his tenure, Chief Justice John Marshall insisted upon holdings which the justices could unanimously back as a means to establish and build the court's national prestige. In doing so, Marshall would often write the opinions himself and actively discouraged dissenting opinions. Associate Justice [[William Johnson (judge)|William Johnson]] eventually persuaded Marshall and the rest of the court to adopt its present practice: one justice writes an opinion for the majority, and the rest are free to write their own separate opinions or not, whether concurring or dissenting.<ref>{{cite book |last=O'Brien |first=David M. |title=Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics |edition=8th |publisher=W. W. Norton |year=2008 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-393-93218-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/stormcentersupre0000obri_a4l4/page/115 115] |url=https://archive.org/details/stormcentersupre0000obri_a4l4/page/115 }}</ref>

The chief justice's formal prerogative—when in the majority—to assign which justice will write the court's opinion is perhaps their most influential power,<ref name=UPennLaw/> as this enables them to influence the historical record.<ref name=LIICornell/> They may assign this task to the individual justice best able to hold together a fragile coalition, to an ideologically amenable colleague, or to themselves. Opinion authors can have a large influence on the content of an opinion; two justices in the same majority, given the opportunity, might write very different majority opinions.<ref name=UPennLaw/> A chief justice who knows the associate justices well can therefore do much—by the simple act of selecting the justice who writes the opinion of the court—to affect the general character or tone of an opinion, which in turn can affect the interpretation of that opinion in cases before lower courts in the years to come.

The chief justice chairs the conferences where cases are discussed and tentatively voted on by the justices. They normally speak first and so have influence in framing the discussion. Although the chief justice votes first—the court votes in order of seniority—they may strategically pass in order to ensure membership in the majority if desired.<ref name=UPennLaw/> It is reported that:
{{Quote|Chief Justice [[Warren E. Burger|Warren Burger]] was renowned, and even vilified in some quarters, for voting strategically during conference discussions on the Supreme Court in order to control the Court's agenda through opinion assignment. Indeed, Burger is said to have often changed votes to join the majority coalition, cast "phony votes" by voting against his preferred position, and declined to express a position at conference.<ref>{{cite journal| title=Passing and Strategic Voting on the U.S. Supreme Court|last1=Johnson|first1=Timothy R.|last2=Spriggs II|first2=James F.|last3=Wahlbeck|first3=Paul J.|journal=Law & Society Review| publisher=Law and Society Association, through Wiley|date=June 2005|volume=39|issue=2|pages=349–377|citeseerx=10.1.1.509.6707|doi=10.1111/j.0023-9216.2005.00085.x}}</ref>}}

===Presidential oath===
The chief justice has traditionally administered the [[oath of office of the president of the United States|presidential oath of office]] to new U.S. presidents. This is merely custom, and is not a constitutional responsibility of the chief justice. The Constitution does not require that the presidential oath be administered by anyone in particular, simply that it be taken by the president. Law empowers any federal or state judge, as well as [[notaries public]], to administer oaths and [[Affirmation (law)|affirmations]]. The chief justice ordinarily administers the oath of office to newly appointed and confirmed associate justices, whereas the seniormost associate justice will normally swear in a new chief justice.

If the chief justice is ill or incapacitated, the oath is usually administered by the seniormost member of the Supreme Court. Eight times, someone other than the chief justice of the United States administered the oath of office to the president.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pioaths.html |title=Presidential Inaugurations: Presidential Oaths of Office |publisher=Memory.loc.gov |access-date=June 21, 2015 |archive-date=January 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121122841/http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pihtml/pioaths.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[Robert R. Livingston (chancellor)|Robert Livingston]], as chancellor of the state of New York (the state's highest ranking judicial office), administered the oath of office to [[George Washington]] at his first inauguration; there was no chief justice of the United States, nor any other federal judge prior to their appointments by President Washington in the months following his inauguration.
*[[William Cushing]], an associate justice of the Supreme Court, administered Washington's second oath of office in 1793.
*[[John Calvin Coolidge Sr.]], [[Calvin Coolidge]]'s father, a notary public, administered the oath to his son after the death of Warren Harding.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historicvermont.org/coolidge/oathrm.html |title=Excerpt from Coolidge's autobiography |publisher=Historicvermont.org |access-date=May 15, 2010 |archive-date=December 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231212110/http://www.historicvermont.org/coolidge/oathrm.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This, however, was contested upon Coolidge's return to Washington, and his oath was re-administered by Judge [[Adolph A. Hoehling, Jr.]] of the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2000/winter/abrupt-transition-1.html |title=Prologue: Selected Articles |publisher=Archives.gov |access-date=May 15, 2010 |archive-date=April 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401003427/http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2000/winter/abrupt-transition-1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[John Tyler]] and [[Millard Fillmore]] were both sworn in on the death of their predecessors by Chief Judge [[William Cranch]] of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/daysevents/potusswearingin05.cfm |title=Presidential Swearing-In Ceremony, Part 5 of 6 |publisher=Inaugural.senate.gov |access-date=August 17, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203094226/http://inaugural.senate.gov/history/daysevents/potusswearingin05.cfm |archive-date=February 3, 2011 }}</ref>
*[[Chester A. Arthur]] and [[Theodore Roosevelt]]'s initial oaths reflected the unexpected nature of their taking office.
*On November 22, 1963, after the [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination of]] President [[John F. Kennedy]], Judge [[Sarah T. Hughes]], a federal district court judge of the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas]], administered the oath to [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] aboard [[Air Force One]].

===Other duties===
Since the tenure of [[William Howard Taft]], the office of chief justice has moved beyond just [[first among equals]].<ref>{{cite book |last=O'Brien |first=David M. |title=Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics |edition=8th |publisher=W. W. Norton |year=2008 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-393-93218-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/stormcentersupre0000obri_a4l4/page/153 153] |url=https://archive.org/details/stormcentersupre0000obri_a4l4/page/153 }}</ref> The chief justice also:
*Serves as the head of the federal judiciary.
*Serves as the head of the [[Judicial Conference of the United States]], the chief administrative body of the United States federal courts. The Judicial Conference is empowered by the [[Rules Enabling Act]] to propose rules, which are then promulgated by the Supreme Court (subject to disapproval by Congress under the [[Congressional Review Act]]), to ensure the smooth operation of the federal courts. Major portions of the [[Federal Rules of Civil Procedure]] and [[Federal Rules of Evidence]] have been adopted by most state legislatures and are considered canonical by American [[law school]]s.
*Appoints sitting federal judges to the membership of the [[United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court]], a "secret court" which oversees requests for surveillance warrants by federal police agencies (primarily the [[FBI]]) against suspected foreign [[Espionage|intelligence agents]] inside the United States. (''see ''{{UnitedStatesCode|50|1803}}).
*Appoints sitting federal judges to the membership of the [[United States Alien Terrorist Removal Court]], a special court constituted to determine whether aliens should be deported from the United States on the grounds that they are terrorists.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alien Terrorist Removal Court, 1996–present|publisher=Federal Judicial Center|url=https://www.fjc.gov/history/courts/alien-terrorist-removal-court-1996-present|access-date=August 16, 2019|archive-date=October 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008194448/https://www.fjc.gov/history/courts/alien-terrorist-removal-court-1996-present|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Appoints the members of the [[Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation]], a special tribunal of seven sitting federal judges responsible for selecting the venue for coordinated pretrial proceedings in situations where multiple related federal actions have been filed in different judicial districts.
*Serves as an ''ex officio'' member of the Board of Regents and as the chancellor of the [[Smithsonian Institution]].
*Supervises the acquisition of books for the [[Law Library of Congress|Law Library]] of the [[Library of Congress]].<ref name="loc history">{{cite web|title=Jefferson's Legacy: A Brief History of the Library of Congress|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/legacy/loc.html|date=March 6, 2006|access-date=January 14, 2008|archive-date=March 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312165046/http://www.loc.gov/loc/legacy/loc.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Unlike Senators and Representatives, who are constitutionally prohibited from holding any other "office of trust or profit" of the United States or of any state while holding their congressional seats, the chief justice and the other members of the federal judiciary are not barred from serving in other positions. John Jay served as a diplomat to negotiate the [[Jay Treaty]], and [[Earl Warren]] chaired [[the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy]].

===Disability or vacancy===
Under {{USC|28|3}}, when the chief justice is unable to discharge their functions, or when that office is vacant, the chief justice's duties are carried out by the senior associate justice until the disability or vacancy ends.<ref name="Pettys">{{Cite journal |first=Todd E. |last=Pettys |title=Choosing a Chief Justice: Presidential Prerogative or a Job for the Court? |journal=Journal of Law & Politics |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=231–281 |year=2006 |publisher=The University of Iowa College of Law |url=https://works.bepress.com/todd_pettys/8/ |ssrn=958829 |access-date=April 10, 2017 |archive-date=September 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925180728/https://works.bepress.com/todd_pettys/8/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> When [[William Rehnquist]] was ill in 2004, [[John Paul Stevens]] acted in his stead, presiding over oral arguments.

Currently, [[Clarence Thomas]] is the senior associate justice.

==List of chief justices==
Since the Supreme Court was established in 1789, the following 17 men have served as chief justice:<ref>{{Cite web|title = U.S. Senate: Supreme Court Nominations: 1789–Present|url = https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/nominations/Nominations.htm|website = www.senate.gov|access-date = February 17, 2016|archive-date = December 9, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201209085119/https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/nominations/Nominations.htm|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Justices 1789 to Present|url = https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members_text.aspx|website = www.supremecourt.gov|access-date = January 11, 2018|archive-date = April 15, 2010|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100415034624/https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members_text.aspx|url-status = live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! colspan="3" | Chief Justice
! class = "unsortable"| Date confirmed<br />(Vote)
! Tenure{{Efn|name="startend"}}
! Tenure length
! Appointed by
! class = "unsortable"| Prior position{{Efn|name="position"}}
|-
| data-sort-value="Jay, John"| 1 
| [[File:John Jay (cropped).jpg|120px]] 
| '''[[John Jay]]'''<br />(1745–1829)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">September 26, 1789</span><br />([[Acclamation]])
| {{dts|October 19, 1789}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">June 29, 1795</span><br />{{small|(Resigned)}}
| {{ayd|1789|10|19|1795|6|29}}
| rowspan=3 data-sort-value="Washington, George"| [[George Washington]]
| Acting<br />[[United States Secretary of State]]<br />(1789–1790)
|-
| data-sort-value="Rutledge, John"| 2
| [[File:John Rutledge color painting (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[John Rutledge]]'''<br />(1739–1800)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;>''December 15, 1795''</span><br />(''10–14''){{Efn|name="Rutledge"}}
| {{dts|August 12, 1795}}{{Efn|name="recess"}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">December 28, 1795</span><br />{{small|(Resigned, nomination having been rejected)}}
| {{ayd|1795|8|12|1795|12|28}}
| Chief Justice of the<br />South Carolina Court of<br />Common Pleas and Sessions<br />(1791–1795)<br />[[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Justice<br />of the Supreme Court]]<br />(1789–1791)
|-
| data-sort-value="Ellsworth, Oliver"| 3
| [[File:Oliver Ellsworth, by Ralph Earl (1785) (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[Oliver Ellsworth]]'''<br />(1745–1807)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">March 4, 1796</span><br />(21–1)
| {{dts|March 8, 1796}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">December 15, 1800</span><br />{{small|(Resigned)}}
| {{ayd|1796|3|8|1800|12|15}}
| [[United States Senate|United States Senator]]<br />from [[Connecticut]]<br />(1789–1796)
|-
| data-sort-value="Marshall, John"| 4
| [[File:John Marshall by Henry Inman, 1832 (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[John Marshall]]'''<br />(1755–1835)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">January 27, 1801</span><br />(Acclamation)
| {{dts|February 4, 1801}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">July 6, 1835</span><br />{{small|(Died)}}
| {{ayd|1801|2|4|1835|7|6}}
| data-sort-value="Adams, John"| [[John Adams]]
| 4th<br />[[United States Secretary of State]]<br />(1800–1801)
|-
| data-sort-value="Taney, Roger"| 5
| [[File:Roger B. Taney - Brady-Handy (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[Roger B. Taney]]'''<br />(1777–1864)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;"> March 15, 1836</span><br />(29–15)
| {{dts|March 28, 1836}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">October 12, 1864</span><br />{{small|(Died)}}
| {{ayd|1836|3|28|1864|10|12}}
| data-sort-value="Jackson, Andrew"| [[Andrew Jackson]]
| 12th<br />[[United States Secretary of the Treasury|United States Secretary<br />of the Treasury]]<br />(1833–1834)
|-
| data-sort-value="Chase, Salmon P."| 6
| [[File:Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[Salmon P. Chase]]'''<br />(1808–1873)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">December 6, 1864</span><br />(Acclamation)
| {{dts|December 15, 1864}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">May 7, 1873</span><br />{{small|(Died)}}
| {{ayd|1864|12|15|1873|5|7}}
| data-sort-value="Lincoln, Abraham"| [[Abraham Lincoln]]
| 25th<br />[[United States Secretary of the Treasury|United States Secretary<br />of the Treasury]]<br />(1861–1864)
|-
| data-sort-value="Waite, Morrison"| 7
| [[File:Chief Justice Morrison Waite (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[Morrison Waite]]'''<br />(1816–1888)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">January 21, 1874</span><br />(63–0)
| {{dts|March 4, 1874}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">March 23, 1888</span><br />{{small|(Died)}}
| {{ayd|1874|3|4|1888|3|23}}
| data-sort-value="Grant, Ulysses S."| [[Ulysses S. Grant]]
| [[Ohio State Senator]]<br />(1849–1850)<br />Presiding officer,<br />[[Constitution of Ohio#1873 constitutional convention|Ohio constitutional convention]]<br />(1873)
|-
| data-sort-value="Fuller, Melville"| 8
| [[File:FULLER, MELVILLE W. CHIEF JUSTICE (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[Melville Fuller]]'''<br />(1833–1910)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">July 20, 1888</span><br />(41–20)
| {{dts|October 8, 1888}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">July 4, 1910</span><br />{{small|(Died)}}
| {{ayd|1888|10|8|1910|7|4}}
| data-sort-value="Cleveland, Grover"| [[Grover Cleveland]]
| President,<br />[[Illinois State Bar Association]]<br />(1886)<br />[[Illinois State Representative]]<br />(1863–1865)
|-
| data-sort-value="White, Edward D."| 9
| [[File:Edward Douglass White Chief Justice of the United States (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[Edward Douglass White]]'''<br />(1845–1921)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">December 12, 1910{{Efn|name="separate"}}</span><br />(Acclamation)
| {{dts|December 19, 1910}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">May 19, 1921</span><br />{{small|(Died)}}
| {{ayd|1910|12|19|1921|5|19}}
| data-sort-value="Taft, William Howard"| [[William Howard Taft]]
| [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Justice<br />of the Supreme Court]]<br />(1894–1910)
|-
| data-sort-value="Taft, William H."| 10
| [[File:William Howard Taft Chief Justice of the United States Portrait (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[William Howard Taft]]'''<br />(1857–1930)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">June 30, 1921</span><br />(Acclamation)
| {{dts|July 11, 1921}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">February 3, 1930</span><br />{{small|(Resigned)}}
| {{ayd|1921|7|11|1930|2|3}}
| data-sort-value="Harding, Warren G."| [[Warren G. Harding]]
| 27th<br />[[President of the United States]]<br />(1909–1913)
|-
| data-sort-value="Hughes, Charles E."| 11
| [[File:Charles Evans Hughes Chief Justice of the United States (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[Charles Evans Hughes]]'''<br />(1862–1948)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">February 13, 1930</span><br />(52–26)
| {{dts|February 24, 1930}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">June 30, 1941</span><br />{{small|(Retired)}}
| {{ayd|1930|2|24|1941|6|30}}
| data-sort-value="Hoover, Herbert"| [[Herbert Hoover]]
| 44th<br />[[United States Secretary of State]]<br />(1921–1925)<br />[[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Justice<br />of the Supreme Court]]<br />(1910–1916)
|-
| data-sort-value="Stone, Harlan F."| 12
| [[File:Harlan F. Stone (3x4 cropped b).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[Harlan F. Stone]]'''<br />(1872–1946)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">June 27, 1941{{Efn|name="separate"}}</span><br />(Acclamation)
| {{dts|July 3, 1941}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">April 22, 1946</span><br />{{small|(Died)}}
| {{ayd|1941|7|3|1946|4|22}}
| data-sort-value="Roosevelt, Franklin D."| [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]
| [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Justice<br />of the Supreme Court]]<br />(1925–1941)
|-
| data-sort-value="Vinson, Fred M."| 13
| [[File: Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson.jpg|120px]]
| '''[[Fred M. Vinson]]'''<br />(1890–1953)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">June 20, 1946</span><br />(Acclamation)
| {{dts|June 24, 1946}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">September 8, 1953 </span><br />{{small|(Died)}}
| {{ayd|1946|6|24|1953|9|8}}
| data-sort-value="Truman, Harry S."| [[Harry S. Truman]]
| 53rd<br />[[United States Secretary of the Treasury|United States Secretary<br />of the Treasury]]<br />(1945–1946)
|-
| data-sort-value="Warren, Earl"| 14
| [[File:Earl Warren Chief Justice (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[Earl Warren]]'''<br />(1891–1974)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">March 1, 1954</span><br />(Acclamation)
| {{dts|October 5, 1953}}{{Efn|name="recess"}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">June 23, 1969</span><br />{{small|(Retired)}}
| {{ayd|1953|10|5|1969|6|23}}
| data-sort-value="Eisenhower, Dwight D."| [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]
| 30th<br />[[Governor of California]]<br />(1943–1953)
|-
| data-sort-value="Burger, Warren E."| 15
| [[File:Warren E Burger official photograph as chief justice (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[Warren E. Burger]]'''<br />(1907–1995)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">June 9, 1969</span><br />(74–3)
| {{dts|June 23, 1969}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">September 26, 1986</span><br />{{small|(Retired)}}
| {{ayd|1969|6|23|1986|9|26}}
| data-sort-value="Nixon, Richard"| [[Richard Nixon]]
| Judge of the<br />[[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|United States Court of Appeals<br />for the District of Columbia Circuit]]<br />(1956–1969)
|-
| data-sort-value="Rehnquist, William"| 16
| [[File:William Rehnquist Official Portrait as Chief Justice (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[William Rehnquist]]'''<br />(1924–2005)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">September 17, 1986{{Efn|name="separate"}}</span><br />(65–33)
| {{dts|September 26, 1986}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">September 3, 2005</span><br />{{small|(Died)}}
| {{ayd|1986|9|26|2005|9|3}}
| data-sort-value="Reagan, Ronald"| [[Ronald Reagan]]
| [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Justice<br />of the Supreme Court]]<br />(1972–1986)
|- 
| data-sort-value="Roberts, John"| 17
| [[File:Official John Roberts (3x4 cropped).jpg|120px]]
| '''[[John Roberts]]'''<br />(born 1955)
| <span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">September 29, 2005</span><br />(78–22)
| {{dts|September 29, 2005}}<br />–<br /><span class="date" style="white-space: nowrap;">Incumbent</span>
| {{ayd|2005|9|29}}
| data-sort-value="Bush, George W."| [[George W. Bush]]
| Judge of the<br />[[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|United States Court of Appeals<br />for the District of Columbia Circuit]]<br />(2003–2005)
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist|30em|refs=
{{Efn|name="startend"|The ''start date'' given here for each chief justice is the day that person took the oath of office, and the ''end date'' is the day of the justice's death, resignation, or retirement.}}
{{Efn|name="position"|Listed here (unless otherwise noted) is the position—either with a U.S. state or the federal government—held by the individual immediately prior to becoming Chief Justice of the United States.}}
{{Efn|name="Rutledge"|This was the first Supreme Court nomination to be rejected by the United States Senate. Rutledge remains the only "recess appointed" justice not to be subsequently confirmed by the Senate.}}
{{Efn|name="recess"|[[Recess appointment]]. Note: The date on which the justice took the judicial oath is here used as the date of the beginning of their service, not the date of the recess appointment.}}
{{Efn|name="separate"|Elevated from associate justice to chief justice while serving on the Supreme Court. The nomination of a sitting associate justice to be chief justice is subject to a separate confirmation process.}}
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Abraham |first=Henry J. |title=Justices and Presidents: A Political History of Appointments to the Supreme Court |url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_f0e8 |url-access=registration |edition=3rd |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1992 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-506557-2 }}
*{{cite book |last=Cushman |first=Clare |title=The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789–1995 |edition=2nd |publisher=(Supreme Court Historical Society, [[Congressional Quarterly]] Books) |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-56802-126-3}}
*Flanders, Henry. [https://books.google.com/books?id=eEQEAAAAYAAJ&q=Flanders,+Henry.+The+Lives+and+Times+of+the+Chief+Justices+of+the+United+States+Supreme+Court ''The Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the United States Supreme Court''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727214021/https://books.google.com/books?id=eEQEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Flanders,+Henry.+The+Lives+and+Times+of+the+Chief+Justices+of+the+United+States+Supreme+Court&source=bl&ots=TlVq46f3l1&sig=xFW-bezy_iOIcXW3X8l-bbzddk8&hl=en&ei=kh1TS5atOIzkNc3DuYkJ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA |date=July 27, 2020 }}. Philadelphia: [[J. B. Lippincott & Co.]], 1874 at [[Google Books]].
*{{cite book |last=Frank |first=John P. |editor-last=Friedman |editor-first=Leon |editor2-last=Israel |editor2-first=Fred L. |title=The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions |publisher=[[Chelsea House Publishers]] |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-7910-1377-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/justicesofunited0000unse }}
*{{cite book |editor-last=Hall |editor-first=Kermit L. |title=The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1992 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-505835-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00hall }}
*{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Fenton S. |author2=Goehlert, Robert U. |title=The U.S. Supreme Court: A Bibliography |publisher=Congressional Quarterly Books |year=1990 |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-0-87187-554-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/ussupremecourtbi0000mart }}
*{{cite book |last=Urofsky |first=Melvin I. |title=The Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary |publisher=[[Garland Publishing]] |year=1994 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/supremecourtjust00melv/page/590 590] |isbn=978-0-8153-1176-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/supremecourtjust00melv/page/590 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{commons-inline}}

{{SCOTUS Justices|chiefjustices}}
{{SCOTUS horizontal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chief Justice Of The United States}}
[[Category:Chief justices of the United States| ]]
[[Category:1789 establishments in the United States]]