Chief Justice of the United States

The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, and as such the highest-ranking officer of the federal judiciary.

As later set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, the Court consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight associate justices.

When deciding a case, however, the chief justice's vote counts no more than that of any associate justice.

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is the title of all members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States.

The chief justice presides over the Judicial Conference and, in that capacity, appoints the director and deputy director of the Administrative Office.

The Conference derives its authority from, which states that it is headed by the Chief Justice of the United States and consists of the Chief Justice, the chief judge of each court of appeals federal regional circuit, a district court judge from various federal judicial districts, and the chief judge of the United States Court of International Trade.

The chief justice has significant influence in the selection of cases for review, presides when oral arguments are held, and leads the discussion of cases among the justices.

Since 1869, the Court has consisted of one chief justice and eight associate justices.

The current chief justice is John Roberts (since 2005).

John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as Chief Justice of the United States.

Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution grants plenary power to the president of the United States to nominate, and with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, appoint a chief justice, who serves until they resign, are impeached and convicted, retire, or die.

Since the Supreme Court was established in 1789, 17 people have served as chief justice, beginning with John Jay (1789–1795).

John Jay (December 23, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, Founding Father of the United States, abolitionist, negotiator and signatory of the Treaty of Paris of 1783, second Governor of New York, and the first Chief Justice of the United States (1789–1795).

Also, while nowhere mandated, the presidential oath of office is typically administered by the chief justice.

While the Constitution does not mandate that anyone in particular should administer the presidential oath of office, it has been administered by the Chief Justice beginning with John Adams, except following the death of a sitting president.

John Rutledge, Edward Douglass White, Charles Evans Hughes, Harlan Fiske Stone, and William Rehnquist served as associate justice prior to becoming chief justice.

John Rutledge (September 17, 1739 – July 23, 1800) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and also its second Chief Justice.

John Rutledge, Edward Douglass White, Charles Evans Hughes, Harlan Fiske Stone, and William Rehnquist served as associate justice prior to becoming chief justice.

Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, Republican Party politician, and the 11th Chief Justice of the United States.

John Rutledge, Edward Douglass White, Charles Evans Hughes, Harlan Fiske Stone, and William Rehnquist served as associate justice prior to becoming chief justice.

He was a United States Senator and the ninth Chief Justice of the United States.

John Rutledge, Edward Douglass White, Charles Evans Hughes, Harlan Fiske Stone, and William Rehnquist served as associate justice prior to becoming chief justice.

William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American jurist and lawyer who served on the Supreme Court of the United States for 33 years, first as an Associate Justice from 1972 to 1986 and then as Chief Justice from 1986 until his death in 2005.

In 1866, Salmon P. Chase assumed the title of Chief Justice of the United States and Congress began using the new title in subsequent legislation.

Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808 – May 7, 1873) was a U.S. politician and jurist who served as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States.

The first person whose Supreme Court commission contained the modified title was Melville Fuller in 1888.

He was the eighth Chief Justice of the United States from 1888 to 1910.

The chief justice presides over the Judicial Conference and, in that capacity, appoints the director and deputy director of the Administrative Office.

The AO is directly supervised by the Judicial Conference of the United States, the body that sets the national and legislative policy of the federal judiciary, which is composed of the Chief Justice of the United States, the chief judge of each court of appeals, a district court judge from each regional judicial circuit, and the chief judge of the United States Court of International Trade.

Article III, Section 1, which authorizes the establishment of the Supreme Court, refers to all members of the Court simply as "judges".

Article Three does not set the size of the Supreme Court or establish specific positions on the court, but Article One establishes the position of chief justice.

Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution grants plenary power to the president of the United States to nominate, and with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, appoint a chief justice, who serves until they resign, are impeached and convicted, retire, or die.

George Washington first claimed the privilege when Congress requested to see Chief Justice John Jay's notes from an unpopular treaty negotiation with Great Britain.

Since 1789, 15 presidents have made a total of 22 official nominations to the position.

Established by Article III of the Constitution, the Court was organized by the 1st United States Congress through the Judiciary Act of 1789, which specified its original and appellate jurisdiction, created 13 judicial districts, and fixed the size of the Supreme Court at six – one chief justice and five associate justices.

Additionally, in December 1800, former chief justice John Jay was nominated and confirmed to the position a second time, but ultimately declined it, opening the way for the appointment of John Marshall.

John Marshall (September 24, 1755 – July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835.

Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 of the Constitution designates the chief justice to preside during presidential impeachment trials in the Senate; this has occurred twice.

Denying the states their intended role as joint partners in the federal government by abolishing their equality in the Senate would, according to Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase (in Texas v. White), destroy the grounding of the Union.

Similarly, when associate justice William Cushing was nominated and confirmed as chief justice in January 1796, but declined the office, he too remained on the Court.

In January 1796 he was nominated by President George Washington to become the Court's Chief Justice; though confirmed, he declined the appointment.

The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the distinctive titles of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Act set the number of Supreme Court justices at six: one Chief Justice and five Associate Justices.

The chief justice typically administers the oath of office at the inauguration of the president of the United States.

Though it is not a constitutional requirement, the chief justice typically administers the presidential oath of office.

President Washington gave him a recess appointment in 1795.

Washington appointed South Carolina judge John Rutledge as Chief Justice of the United States during a congressional recess in 1795.

The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, and as such the highest-ranking officer of the federal judiciary.

Unlike the Chief Justice of the United States, a chief judge returns to active service after the expiration of his or her term and does not create a vacancy on the bench by the fact of his or her promotion.