U.S. Supreme Court Justices Trivia

1. Elena Kagan was always opinionated even at a young age. In fact, Kagan had a few major disagreements with which person about which important event?

From Quiz Justice Elena Kagan

Answer: Her rabbi about her bat mitzvah

Kagan was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family and she often complained to her rabbi that the synagogue was putting on extravagant affairs for boys at their bar mitzvah but not for girls at their bat mitzvah. Kagan's stubbornness succeeded and she was the first girl given a formal ceremony at her synagogue.

From Quiz Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Answer: Puerto Rico

Sotomayor said she identifies as "Nuyorican" which refers to people of Puerto Rican descent who were not born there and were raised in New York City. Her father, Juan, was a die maker and her mother Celina was a telephone operator.

From Quiz Justice Samuel Alito

Answer: New Jersey

Both of Alito's parents were schoolteachers. He was born in Trenton and lived mostly in Hamilton, New Jersey before attending Princeton and Yale. He mentioned in his yearbook that his dream goal was to be on the Supreme Court.

From Quiz Justice Stephen Breyer

Answer: Jerry Brown

The two often debated each other while on the Lowell Forensic society, the high school's debate team. After high school, Breyer studied philosophy at Stanford and law at Harvard. He also earned a degree from Oxford.

From Quiz Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Answer: Columbia

Ginsburg had originally attended Harvard but moved to back to New York when her husband Martin joined a law firm in the city. Ginsburg is the first woman in America to serve on more than one university law review, writing for both the "Harvard Law Review" and the "Columbia Law Review."

From Quiz Justice Clarence Thomas

Answer: The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

In an interview, Thomas stated he decided not become a priest when he overheard his fellow students rejoicing at the news of King's death. Thomas said he believed that the Catholic Church did not do enough to fight racism in its institutions or in the community. He later majored in English at the College of the Holy Cross.

From Quiz Justice Anthony Kennedy

Answer: California

Kennedy's father, also named Anthony, served as a lawyer for the California Legislature and was influential in drafting legislation. His mother Gladys was a local political activist. After studying law, the younger Kennedy became a constitutional law professor at Pacific University.

From Quiz Justice Antonin Scalia

Answer: Roman Catholic

Scalia was born to a Sicilian immigrant father and American-born mother in Trenton, New Jersey and was raised Roman Catholic. He attended St. Francis Xavier Catholic High School. His strict Catholic views can be seen in some of his opinions, particularly those on contentious social issues like abortion. One of Scalia's sons is a Catholic priest.

From Quiz Chief Justice John Roberts

Answer: Harvard

Roberts later attended Harvard Law School and graduated with a J.D. in law. While attending Harvard, Roberts worked on the "Harvard Law Review". After Harvard, Roberts clerked for Judge Henry Friendly.

From Quiz Lesser Known Chief Justices - US Supreme Court

Answer: The Senate did not confirm his nomination

John Jay, the first Chief Justice, resigned in June 1795 because he had been elected governor of New York. Rutledge, who had previously been an Associate Justice but had resigned to become Chief Justice of South Carolina, was appointed two days later by President Washington to take his place as a recess appointment. However, before the Senate reconvened to vote on his nomination, he made speeches critical of a popular treaty with Great Britain. Thus, when it came time for his nomination to be voted on, it was defeated 14-10. Every other Chief Justice through the end of the 20th century served at least 13 times as long as Rutledge. While he was Chief Justice, only two cases were decided (back then the docket was smaller than today!) One of those was significant in that it allowed citizens of the United States also to possess citizenship in another country. Rutledge had previously served as governor of South Carolina during the Revolutionary War and was one of the drafters of the Constitution.

From Quiz The Swing Vote of the Roberts Court

Answer: Ronald Reagan

Justice Kennedy was Reagan's third choice for the nomination in 1987. Robert Bork was nominated first, but was not confirmed by the Senate because they felt he was too conservative. Douglas Ginsburg was then nominated, but he withdrew his name. Finally, Kennedy was nominated and confirmed by the Senate ninety-seven votes to zero. He began his duties as an Associate Justice on February 18, 1988.

From Quiz Felix Frankfurter, Supreme Court Justice

Answer: Vienna, Austria

Felix Frankfurter was born in Vienna, a point which was brought up repeatedly when he was nominated to the Supreme Court. He did, however, whole-heartedly put himself into being American and his life in civil service proved that.

From Quiz U.S. Chief Justices

Answer: John Roberts

Roberts entered Harvard University as a Sophomore, and worked at a steel mill to help pay for his schooling. He became Principal Deputy Solicitor General in 1989, where he argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court, prevailing in 25. In July 2005 President Bush nominated Roberts to fill the impending vacancy that was to be created by the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor, but Bush changed the nomination to Chief Justice following the death of Rehnquist in August.

From Quiz Supreme Court Justices #2

Answer: Earl Warren and William Brennan

Earl Warren and William Brennan formed the backbone of the Warren Court, a court that ushered in the era of Judicial Activism in the High Court.

From Quiz The Nine Justices: 2021-2022 Term

Answer: Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas was born in Georgia in 1948. After graduating from Yale Law School in 1974, Thomas served as assistant attorney general in Missouri, as a corporate attorney for Monsanto, and then as Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He briefly held the title of Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit between 1990 and 1991. Then, he was nominated by President Bush Sr. to the U.S. Supreme Court following the retirement of Justice Thurgood Marshall. Thomas's confirmation hearings were among the most contentious in history, especially after claims that he had sexually harassed Anita Hill in the past. Thomas was eventually confirmed by a 52-48 vote in the Senate. He was instrumental in moving the Court to the right, as he is an originalist and textualist who believes that the Constitution should be read literally, and not as a living, breathing document. Thomas's opinion in the 2022 case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen struck down a New York law that restricted rights to carry weapons outside of the home. Thomas wrote that no other Constitutional right is subject to what the law required, and it was therefore unconstitutional.

From Quiz Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Answer: Perry Mason

Sotomayor originally said she wanted to be a detective after reading the "Nancy Drew" series but her took up a legal career because her diabetes prevented her from becoming a detective. During her time in high school, she was on the forensics team and was her class valedictorian. She was appointed to the U.S. District Court on August 12, 1992.

From Quiz Justice Samuel Alito

Answer: Limits on intelligence gathering within the United States

Alito led the conference in 1971, which called for limiting the government's ability to collect data on the American people via spying or other similar techniques. It also called for an end to discrimination against LGBT people in job hiring and also to end the ban on sodomy. Typically speaking, these positions are the opposite against traditional conservative ideology that Alito usually aligns with. However, he is known to have a libertarian streak and libertarians would traditionally support the above positions.

From Quiz Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Answer: Felix Frankfurter

Ginsburg had received recommendations from a number of credible sources, including the Dean of Harvard Law. However, Frankfurter denied her anyway because she was a woman and women rarely served as clerks during that time period. Other justices, however, did have female clerks. Ginsburg instead clerked for Edmund Palmieri for the Southern District of New York and a professor at Rutgers.

From Quiz Justice Clarence Thomas

Answer: John Danforth

It was under Danforth that Thomas first started feeling ambitious about a career higher up on the ladder. John Danforth was instrumental in getting Thomas nominated to the Supreme Court and pushing his confirmation through despite the controversies surrounding Thomas.

From Quiz Justice Anthony Kennedy

Answer: Over a decade serving the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Gerald Ford nominated Kennedy in 1975 to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after then Governor Ronald Reagan recommended Kennedy. He was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. He served until his appointment to the Supreme Court.

From Quiz Justice Antonin Scalia

Answer: To defend Ford's actions during the aftermath of the Watergate Scandal

President Ford was claiming executive privilege and not releasing documents to the Senate committees investigating Watergate. Scalia was Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Council who apparently had great influence over Ford. Scalia told the Senate that Ford was justified in claiming executive privilege.

From Quiz Chief Justice John Roberts

Answer: William Rehnquist

Roberts clerked for Rehnquist when the latter was an Associate Justice, not Chief Justice. It is actually quite common for Supreme Court Justices to have clerked for previous justices, as it is a good launch pad for a legal career with high-profile law firms and appointments to federal courts. Law clerks perform a number of duties, most notably legal research and helping to draft opinions.

From Quiz The Swing Vote of the Roberts Court

Answer: Sacramento, CA

He was born on July 23, 1936. At the time of his nomination in 1987, he was fifty-one years old. He is married to Mary Davis Kennedy, and has three children.

From Quiz Felix Frankfurter, Supreme Court Justice

Answer: He helped to start the American Jewish Congress

He, along with other leaders in the Jewish community convened the first American Jewish Congress in Independence hall in Philadelphia. This organization would fight for Jewish rights and civil liberties. The AJC would have great success in the 1960s civil rights movement.

From Quiz Supreme Court Justices #2

Answer: James Byrnes

James Byrnes served only one year (1943) on the High Court. His last stint in the public arena was as Govenor of South Carolina.

From Quiz Supreme Court Justices: Fun Facts

Answer: Harry Blackmun

Harry Blackmun was a Harvard-educated lawyer who spent most of his career serving in the judicial branch. In the 1950s, Blackmun worked as counsel for the Mayo Clinic, an important medical and research center. This medical background is believed to be one of the reasons why he was assigned and wrote the opinion in Roe v. Wade. Blackmun was a federal judge for the Eighth Circuit's Court of Appeals between 1959 and 1970, after which he was nominated by President Nixon to serve on the Supreme Court. A Republican, Blackmun penned several important opinions during his Supreme Court tenure. Perhaps his most important one was Roe v. Wade, a landmark case that afforded women the right to have an abortion protected by the 14th Amendment. Roe v. Wade, considered one of the most consequential and controversial Supreme Court cases, was overturned in 2022 in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case.

From Quiz The Nine Justices: 2021-2022 Term

Answer: Stephen Breyer

Stephen Breyer was born in San Francisco, California in 1938. Breyer obtained a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and an LLB (Bachelor of Laws) from Harvard University (a degree that is today considered equivalent to the Juris Doctor). Breyer served as a corporal in the U.S. Army between 1957 and 1965. He clerked for Justice Arthur Goldberg, was a professor at Harvard Law School, and served as a judge (and then chief judge) for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Breyer was nominated by President Clinton in 1994, a year after Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the High Court. Breyer's style has been described as practical and pragmatic. His writing is usually simple to understand, though he was also known for his long hypotheticals presented to lawyers who were arguing before the Court. Breyer was part of the Court's liberal wing.

From Quiz Justice Elena Kagan

Answer: Thurgood Marshall

1988 was one of the last years Marshall was on the Court and it has been said that Kagan, who he affectionately called Shorty, was one of his favorite clerks. Like Marshall, Kagan was also appointed to the Supreme Court after serving as Solicitor General. They both also espoused traditionally liberal judicial philosophy.

From Quiz Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Answer: Yale

Sonia Sotomayor got accepted into Princeton despite narrowly missing the qualifications because of her test scores. She later explained that this was due to affirmative action because of her impoverished background. She described herself as being shy in Princeton and having to work harder than her classmates because who all went to elite high schools. She also said she was uncomfortable because there were few women at Princeton. The same thing happened to her at Yale where she narrowly missed the qualifications for test scores but up for it because of her high marks at Princeton. At Yale, she also said she was one of few women.

From Quiz Justice Samuel Alito

Answer: Byron White

White was also known for having a somewhat conservative attitude while on the Court, although he never identified as such and preferred not to limit himself to one ideology. Prior to being turned down for a clerkship from White, Alito had clerked for Judge Garth at the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He later became Assistant U.S. Attorney for New Jersey and then the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:53 AM

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