*At any given time, there may be only 8, or even fewer justices serving on the US Supreme Court. Justices may die in office, or retire. As of early 2016, the serving Justices are:

John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States, was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2003. President George W. Bush nominated him as Chief Justice of the United States, after the death of former Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. He joined the Court on September 29, 2005.

Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice, was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1975. President Reagan nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1988.

Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, became a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1990. President Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1991.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice, was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980. President Clinton nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1993.

Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice, served as a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and as its Chief Judge, 1990-1994. He also served as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States, 1990-1994, and of the United States Sentencing Commission, 1985-1989. President Clinton nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1994.

Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr., Associate Justice, was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1990. President George W. Bush nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 2006.

Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice, was nominated to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York by George HW Bush. She served in that capacity from 1992-1998, then became a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1998-2009. President Barack Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 2009.

Elena Kagan, Associate Justice, was nominated to the position of US Solicitor General by President Obama in 2009. She served as Associate White House Counsel under the Clinton Administration from 1995-1999. Kagan, an expert on Constitutional Law, was a former law professor and Dean of Harvard Law School. President Obama nominated her as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 2010.

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* The most recent Associate Justice to die in office (February 13, 2016) was

Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice, who had been appointed Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1982. President Reagan nominated him as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1986.

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