Reference Sheet: Meet the Roberts Court

John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the United States

When was he nominated and approved to the Supreme Court?

• President George W. Bush nominated Roberts to the Court in 2005
• The Senate approved his nomination 78-22

What did he do before he became Chief Justice?

• Judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (2003-2005)
• Private lawyer in Washington, DC; leading Supreme Court advocate
• Principal Deputy Solicitor General under President George H.W. Bush (1989-1993)
• White House Counsel’s Office under President Ronald Reagan (1982-1986)

Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice

When was he nominated and approved to the Supreme Court?

• President George H.W. Bush nominated Thomas to the Court in 1991
• The Senate approved his nomination 52-48

What did he do before he became a Supreme Court Justice?

• Judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1990-1991)
• Chairman of U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1982-1990)
• Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (1981-1982)

Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Associate Justice

When was he nominated and approved to the Supreme Court?

• President George W. Bush nominated Alito to the Court in 2005
• The Senate approved his nomination 58-42

What did he do before he became a Supreme Court Justice?

• Judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (DE, MD, and PA) (1990-2006)
• U.S. Attorney (1987-1990)
• Assistant to the Solicitor General (1981-1985)

Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice

When was she nominated and approved to the Supreme Court?

• President Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor to the Court in 2009
• The Senate approved her nomination 68-31

What did she do before she became a Supreme Court Justice?

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (CT, NY, and VT) (1998-2009)
• U.S. District Court in NY (1992-1998)
• International commercial litigator (1984-1992)

Elena Kagan, Associate Justice

When was she nominated and approved to the Supreme Court?

• President Barack Obama nominated Kagan to the Court in 2010
• The Senate approved her nomination 63-37

What did she do before she became a Supreme Court Justice?

• Solicitor General of the United States (2009-2010)
• Dean of Harvard Law School (2003-2009)
• Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council under President Clinton (1997-2000)

Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice

When was he nominated and approved to the Supreme Court?

• President Donald Trump nominated Gorsuch to the Court in 2017
• The Senate approved his nomination 54-45

What did he do before he became a Supreme Court Justice?

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (CO, KS, NM, OK, UT, and WY) (2006-2017)
• Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General (2005-2006)
• Private trial attorney (1995-2005)

Brett M. Kavanaugh, Associate Justice

When was he nominated and approved to the Supreme Court?

• President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh to the Court in 2018
• The Senate approved his nomination 50-48

What did he do before he became a Supreme Court Justice?

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (2006-2018)
• Assistant and Staff Secretary to President George W. Bush (2003-2006)
• Attorney in the Office of the Solicitor General (1992-1993)

Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice

When was she nominated and approved to the Supreme Court?

• President Donald Trump nominated Barrett to the Court in 2020
• The Senate approved her nomination 52-48

What did she do before she became a Supreme Court Justice?

• Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (IL, IN, and WI) (2017-2020)
• Professor at Notre Dame Law School (2002-2017)
• Attorney in private practice (1999-2002)

Ketanji Brown Jackson, Associate Justice

When was she nominated and approved to the Supreme Court?

• President Joe Biden nominated Jackson to the Court in 2022
• The Senate approved her nomination 53-47

What did she do before she became a Supreme Court Justice?

• Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (2021-2022)
• Judge on U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (2013-2021)
• Vice Chair and Commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission (2010-2014)