A Supreme Court justice must remain above reproach in his or her personal life. Justices can be impeached if they are guilty of moral turpitude or crimes of law.
John Rutledge
there is no "assistant Supreme Court Chief Justice" in the Philippines. The SC is composed of 1 chief justice and 14 associate justices. While it is a collegial body, the chief justice is primus inter pares (first among equals). However, the most senior associate justice - who is second in the order of precedence is also designated as Senior Justice.
Yes, Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female justice of the United States Supreme Court, has written several books. Some of her notable works include "The Majesty of the Law: Reflections of a Supreme Court Justice" and "Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court."
"Supreme Court rules against presidential executive order"
The Chief Justice speaks first because he (or she) presides over the Court. The other justices traditionally speak in order of seniority, or time on the Court.
The Supreme Court is very powerful in that it is able to review acts by Congress or the Executive Branch and determine them to be unconstitutional. The Court is also able to "legislate from the bench," or effectively create law through court cases (known as precedents). Therein lies the Supreme Court's weakness, however, as it is generally unable to act independently - the Court must, in most cases, wait for a case to appear in a lower court or wait for an act by one of the other branches in order to "legislate."
US Supreme Court Justices are seated in order of seniority. The Chief Justice is always considered the most senior member of the Court, regardless of the length of his (or her) tenure, and holds the position of authority at the center of the bench. The Senior Associate Justice, the person who has served longest on the Court, sits to the Chief Justice's immediate right (seat 2); the next most senior justice sits to the Chief Justice's immediate left (seat 3). Justices alternate their seating, right to left, with the Junior Justice sitting farthest from Chief Justice on his left.On current Court, Senior Associate Justice John Paul Stevens sits to Chief Justice John Roberts' right; Justice Antonin Scalia sits to his left.For more information, see Related Questions, below.
Justice Scalia occupies seat 3, immediately to the left (viewer's right) of the Chief Justice of the United States, who always sits at the center of the bench. Justice Stevens, the most senior Associate Justice on the Court, occupies seat 2, on Chief Justice Roberts' right. Justices are seated in order of seniority, with the Chief Justice always placed at the center (or at the head of the conference table). The Senior Associate Justice (the person with the longest tenure on the Court) always sits to the Chief Justice's immediate right; the second most senior member sits to the Chief Justice's immediate left. The other justices alternate right to left in a sequence determined by the length of time they've been on the bench, with the Junior Justice (the newest member) in seat 9, the farthest to the Chief Justice's left. If Justice Stevens leaves the Court prior to Scalia, Justice Scalia will become the new Senior Associate Justice and will move from seat 3 to seat 2, migrating from Roberts' left to his right. Whenever a vacancy is filled, all the seats below the one left vacant advance one place, leaving seat 9 open for the incoming justice.
Currently, there are nine justices. It is an odd number in order to prevent ties when voting on cases.
The justices are traditionally seated in order of seniority, with the Chief Justice occupying the first seat. The most junior justice (newest justice) sits farthest from the Chief Justice.
In the US Supreme Court, the Chief Justice has the privilege of asking the first question. According to protocol, the eight Associate Justices may then ask questions in order of seniority.
Charles Evans Hughes, who was an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court from 1910-1916, resigned from the Court on June 10, 1916, in order to become the Republican candidate for President. He was narrowly defeated by Woodrow Wilson that year, in a decision that hinged on the outcome in California. Hughes was only 594,188 popular votes behind Wilson. President Hoover nominated Hughes to Chief Justice of the United States in 1930, to serve on the Court following the death of William Howard Taft, who was Supreme Court Chief Justice from 1921-1930, and President of the United States from 1909-1913. Hughes lead the Supreme Court from 1930-1941.