SCOTUS is an acronym for the Supreme Court of the United States. The court system is the third pillar of our checks and balance government. One would think due to the rise of social media and limited character spaces that SCOTUS was created in modern times. However, the abbreviation can be traced back to 1879. Members of the court will be nominated by the current president and must be confirmed by the Senate, not Congress as a whole. Once a justice has been confirmed into office that person may hold a seat on the court until they either retire or die.
An interesting fact about the court is it has not always been a nine justice court. The Supreme Court originally started with six members. The Supreme Court has grown to as large as 10 members, but was shrunk down to it’s modern size of nine members in 1869.
The current Chief Justice is John Roberts. He was appointed in 2005 by George H.W. bush when his predecessor, William Rehnquist, died. SCOTUS does have a hierarchy within itself. The Chief Justice is considered the most senior member regardless of length of tenure. From there, the Associated Justices are ranked by the length of time served in the court.
The Associate Justices on the Supreme Court of the United States are as follows in their seniority ranking: Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Anthony Alito, Sonia Sotomayer, and Elena Kagan.
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