10 iconic Supreme Court Justice group photos

June 2, 2017 by NCC Staff

On Thursday, the Supreme Court posed for a new group photo, continuing a tradition dating back to the Civil War. Here’s a look at 10 iconic Court photos and explanation of where the Justices are situated.

In the current Supreme Court protocol, the Justices alternate left and right based on seniority, with the Chief Justice in the center of the photograph, says our Supreme Court correspondent Lyle Denniston, who has covered the Court since 1958.

This tradition matches in part the protocol used for where Justices sit on the actual bench in the courtroom. The Chief Justice sits in the center of the bench, with two senior Associate Justices at his side. The rest of the Justices sit in order of seniority alternating from left to right, with the most junior Associate Justice on the far right, if you were to view the bench from the audience.

In Thursday’s photo, the newest Justice, Neil Gorsuch, stands of the outside of the back row, with the second newest Justice, Elena Kagan, also on the other outside position on the back row. Justices Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas flank Chief Justice John Roberts.

The Library of Congress and other online sources have archives of Supreme Court Justice group photos dating back in 1864. Looking at 10 notable past Court photos, it is easy to see how times have changed and to recognize some very important Justices through the years.

	1864: The Chase Court This very early Alexander Gardner photographic print shows Chief Justice Salmon Chase in the center just after taking his oath and replacing Roger Taney as the Chief.
	1894: The Fuller Court This group picture was taken about two years before the court ruled in Plessey v. Ferguson. Rufus Peckham had yet to join the bench. Chief Justice Melville Fuller is at the center of the photo.
	1916: The White Court Newly minted Justice Louis Brandeis, nominated by Woodrow Wilson, joins the Court after his confirmation. At the center: Chief Justice Edward White.
	1925: The Taft Court Former President and then current Chief Justice William Howard Taft, slimmed down from his White House years, is front and center. At Taft’s right is Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., who died later that year.
	1937: The Hughes Court Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes (center) and his court were part of a controversy started when President Franklin Roosevelt tried to add more Justices to the court in a failed effort. Hugo Black joined the bench that year.
	1953: The Warren Court Earl Warren poses with the court just after taking his oath as Chief Justice. The next year, the Warren Court would start segregation’s end with its Brown v. Board Of Education decision.
	1973: The Burger Court Chief Justice Warren Burger was one of four Justices added to the Court in the Nixon Administration’s first two years.
	1986: The Rehnquist Court Earlier that year, William Rehnquist was elevated to Chief Justice. Here, the newest Justice, Antonin Scalia, is at the far right.
	1994: Ginsburg, Breyer join the bench President Bill Clinton’s two appointees, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, are on the outside left and right of the court photo.
	2010: The Roberts Court For the first time, three women are on the Supreme Court as Elena Kagan is added to the bench in 2010.