All they have to do is avoid being declared crazy. They are appointed for life, so the only ground for impeachment is if they are incapable of continuing their job. I guess they also have to not resign...
Addition:
Supreme Court justices are not appointed for "life," but "during good behavior." They need to avoid committing "high crimes and misdemeanors," the constitutional phrase for impeachable offenses. Supreme Court justices may be impeached, convicted and removed from office for the same reasons the US President can be impeached.
* Justices who don't commit impeachable offenses may remain on the Court indefinitely, which is similar to a lifetime appointment.
For more information about this subject, see Related Questions, below.
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."
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.
Justice Stevens is the Senior Associate Justice, with a tenure on the Court of more than 34 years. He occupies seat 2, which is immediately to the right of Chief Justice John Roberts, who always sits at the center of the bench (or at the head of the conference table). Other than the Chief Justice, US Supreme Court justices are always seated in order of seniority, with the senior associate sitting on the Chief Justice's right, and the next most senior associate (at this time, Justice Scalia), sitting to the Chief Justice's immediate left. The other justices alternate seats, right to left. The Junior Justice (at this time, Sonia Sotomayor) always occupies seat 9, which is farthest from the Chief Justice, on his left.
If a senator were to leave the senate in order to serve on the Supreme Court, the governnor of his or her state would appoint a new senator to complete the remaining portion of the senatorial term of office.
Not exactly. "Preside" means "to be in charge of," and that responsibility falls to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or, in his (or her) absence, the Senior Associate Justice (justice who has served on the court longest). All Supreme Court justices are assigned one or more Circuits over which they have responsibility for emergency orders, per federal law (18 USC § 42): "The Chief Justice of the United States and the associate justices of the Supreme Court shall from time to time be allotted as circuit justices among the circuits by order of the Supreme Court. "The Chief Justice may make such allotments in vacation. A justice may be assigned to more than one circuit, and two or more justices may be assigned to the same circuit." The justices do not preside over the Circuits, however. US District Courts typically seat only one judge per case to preside over the Court; the US Court of Appeals Circuit Courts typically provide for appellate review by a three-judge panel, with one of the three presiding over the panel.
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.