15 July 2008

Ages of U.S. Supreme Court Justices

Students of common law are always surprised to hear about how long members of the U.S. Supreme Court stay in their positions. After all, these are lifetime appointments and many Justices take this seriously. Here is a list of the current and their ages along with a list of the 10 most recent former Justices and their ages:

The members of the current Supreme Court, by age:

John Paul Stevens, 88
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 75
Antonin Scalia, 72
Anthony Kennedy, 71
Stephen Breyer, 69
David Souter, 68
Clarence Thomas, 60
Samuel Alito, 58
John Roberts, 53

The last 10 justices to leave the Supreme Court, with their age and date of retirement:

Sandra Day O'Connor, 75, Jan. 31, 2006
William Rehnquist, 80, Sept. 3, 2005
Harry Blackmun, 85, Aug. 3, 1994
Byron White, 76, June 28, 1993
Thurgood Marshall, 83, Oct. 1, 1991
William Brennan, 84, July 20, 1990
Lewis Powell, 79, June 26, 1987
Warren Burger, 79, Sept. 26, 1986
Potter Stewart, 66, July 3, 1981
William Douglas, 77, Nov. 12, 1975