Rookie on the Bench: The Role of the Junior Justice

When Samuel Alito took his seat on January 31, 2006, Stephen G. Breyer finally moved up a rung in seniority, ending the longest reign as a junior Justice in modern Supreme Court history. Breyer served as the rookie Justice for eleven years and 181 days, just twenty‐nine days short of breaking the record achieved by Joseph Story in 1823. It was not until the appointment of Smith Thompson to replace Brockholst Livingston that the Marshall Court accommodated a new Justice, altering the cosy boarding‐house living arrangement that had existed for nearly twelve years (see Table 1). 1 Longest‐Serving Junior JusticesName Dates as Junior Justice* Time Served DaysJoseph Story February 3, 1812 to September 1, 1823 11 years, 6 months, 29 days 4,228 Stephen G. Breyer August 3, 1994 to January 31, 2006 11 years, 5 months, 28 days 4,199 Stephen J. Field May 20, 1863 to March 14, 1870 6 years, 9 months, 25 daysSamuel Blatchford April 3, 1882 to January 18, 1888 5 years, 9 months, 15 daysJohn Paul Stevens December 19, 1975 to September 25, 1981 5 years, 9 months, 6 days*Defined as the period between when one Associate Justice took the judicial oath and when the next Associate Justice took the judicial oath. The exact date of Story's judicial oath is not known. Source: Office of the Curator, Supreme Court of the United States.