What is the composition of the US Supreme Court?

Answer 1

Congress determines the number of Justices needed to handle the caseload of the Supreme Court. When the Court was first established by the Judiciary Act of 1789, it originally seated just six Justices: one Chief Justice, and five Associate Justices. The number expanded to seven in 1807, nine in 1837, and ten in 1863.

Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase requested the number be reduced to seven by attrition, meaning three of the ten Justices would not be replaced when they left the court. Congress granted this request in the Judicial Circuits Act of 1866, and the Court size subsequently declined by two members. This trend was reversed by the Judiciary Act of 1869 (not to be confused with earlier Acts of the same name), which fixed the number of seats at nine, where it has remained.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to expand the Court in 1937, in order to facilitate support for his New Deal Policies. Roosevelt's plan called for adding one additional Justice for each existing Justice who reached the age of 70 years, 6 months, but did not retire from the bench, until the Court reached a maximum capacity of 15 Justices. Congress successfully defeated the Court-packing Plan, but the Justices gradually accepted the New Deal, making alterations to the Court unnecessary. Eight of the nine Justices died during Roosevelt's tenure, allowing him to create a majority that approved of his policies.

The current composition of the Supreme Court is one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.

Answer 2

It consists of one Chief Justice and thirty-one lower ranking justice since 2008.