There was a nine-year gap before Chief Justice Roberts took over for Chief Justice William Rehnquist in September 2005. However, the policy of lifetime appointment also has its drawbacks. Those salaries have increased roughly $2,000 to $4,000 per year since 2014. As the highest court in the nation, the United States Supreme Court is responsible for making final decisions on the legality of cases which are in dispute. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama all made two appointments during their tenure. Justice Alito was appointed less than a year later, in January 2006. The Supreme Court draws strong arguments both for and against its constitutionality as well as criticisms regarding the rules and procedures of the court. He succeeded Anthony Kennedy, who was the Supreme Court's swing vote, often casting the deciding opinion in 5-4 cases, consolidating a conservative majority at the top court. Gorsuch took his spot on the bench in April 2017. Her former experience as a prosecutor and trial judge often leads her to challenge lawyers on the facts of a case, says Marcia Coyle, the chief Washington correspondent for the National Law Journal. In his three and a half years in office Trump has replaced two of the nine justices, seemingly tilting the high court to the right for years to come. This sometimes creates criticism on both sides of the political spectrum.

Advocates of the Supreme Court, however, note that presidential appointment allows for a proper balance, which is determined by national voters.Justices of the United States Supreme Court are required to be impartial in their determinations and are required to base their decisions on fact, not emotion. The demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States encompass the gender, ethnicity, and religious, geographic, and economic backgrounds of the 114 people who have been appointed and confirmed as justices to the Supreme Court.Some of these characteristics have been raised as an issue since the Court was established in 1789. Justice Anthony Kennedy sits right in the middle of the political spectrum, and is the “swing” vote that makes predicting the outcome of Supreme Court decisions very difficult. She has expertise in the fields of law, parapsychology and the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction.

What's at stake in the Supreme Court healthcare challenge? "When a person goes to court, a polling place, or an immigration proceeding, I could go on: to a zoning agency, a parole board hearing, or the DMV - government officials do not engage in sectarian worship, nor do they ask her to do likewise. Once appointed to the United States Supreme Court, justices may enjoy the benefits of lifetime appointment. Joe Biden puts on a mask after a campaign event in Wilmington, Del., on Tuesday. As such, they tend to reflect the partisan views of … We have not previously interpreted the Clause, and, when doing so for the first time in more than 200 years, we must hesitate to upset the compromises and working arrangements that the elected branches of Government themselves have reached. "He doesn't want huge swings, except in areas he feels very strongly about," Coyle says, like government's role in racial issues, campaign finance's relation to free speech and the structure of constitution. Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose spot Kavanaugh was selected to fill, was largely seen as the swing vote because although he was nominated by Reagan, Chief Justice John Roberts walks with his wife Jane Roberts and their children at the Supreme Court after he took the Supreme Court bench for the first time October 3, 2005 in Washington. Kavanaugh has the second-most conservative score (0.693) next to Justice Clarence Thomas (0.725), per a measure that score judges on a liberal-conservative spectrum. US Supreme Court divided over Obamacare challenge US Justice Ginsburg admits she was not sober during speech

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, 70 years old