Skip to navigation Skip to content. Discover Membership. Editions Quartz. More from Quartz About Quartz. Follow Quartz. These are some of our most ambitious editorial projects. By Gwynn Guilford Reporter. Lifelong appointments for justices are resulting in increasingly longer terms, with significant implications for the politicization of the court.
The nine individuals who sit on the Supreme Court hold incredible power over American life. The author would like to thank Sam Berger and Danielle Root for their work on this topic. Danielle Root , Sam Berger. Danielle Root. Peter Gordon Director, Government Affairs. Longer terms have led to an increasingly political confirmation process and a court more likely to be out of touch with the general public The average age at which a justice is appointed to the Supreme Court has remained relatively static throughout history, falling between the early- to mids—meaning that as life expectancy has grown, so too have the terms of Supreme Court justices.
Several term-limit proposals are gaining momentum While there is a range of potential term-limit proposals, there are some general principles that have rightly achieved broad support. Once at the end of their term, justices would have the option to continue to work as fully compensated federal judges in senior status, as all currently retired Supreme Court justices have elected to do.
Objections to term limits are misplaced Term limits have received support from those on both sides of the political aisle, but some concerns remain. Term limits are unlikely to bring huge upheavals in law Regular upheavals in law have long been raised as a potential negative outcome to term limits. Term-limit proposals could increase the number of justices that some presidents appoint, but not dramatically enough to lead to significantly more doctrinal upheaval.
Term limits are unlikely to result in more corrupt justices Another concern is that term limits would give justices heightened political and financial incentives to set themselves up for their next job through their legal opinions before fully resigning from the bench. Conclusion Lifelong appointments for justices are resulting in increasingly longer terms, with significant implications for the politicization of the court.
Craig S. Jennifer E. As life expectancy continues to increase, it is likely that the younger justices will serve for at least that amount of time. Stephen B. Burbank, S. You Might Also Like. The two most recent nominees are no exception. Merrick Garland, who was 63 when Barack Obama nominated him last March, would have been among the oldest. That raises the question: Do justices who are younger when they join the court actually end up serving longer than older appointees?
Not surprisingly, the answer is yes, though there are plenty of exceptions. Overall, the age at which a new justice takes the oath of office is correlated with the eventual length of his or her tenure on the court, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of biographical data for all former Supreme Court justices.
Our analysis excludes the eight current members since their tenure is ongoing. Justices who were younger than 45 when they took the oath of office served an average of Justices ages 55 to 59 served an average of For two justices whose exact birth date was unavailable, we used Jan.
The youngest new Supreme Court justice ever was Joseph Story, who joined the court in at age The oldest was Horace Lurton, who became a justice in at Most new justices were in their 50s when sworn in 58 of when excluding those currently serving.
Breyer clerked for Justice Arthur J. Goldberg during the Term. John G. Roberts, Jr. Rehnquist during the Term. Neil M. Gorsuch clerked for then-retired Justice Byron R.
White and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy during the Term. Brett M. Kavanaugh clerked for Justice Anthony M. Chief Justice John G. Justice Clarence Thomas - Yale J. Justice Stephen G. Breyer - Harvard LL. B Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. Justice Sonia Sotomayor - Yale J.
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