Compendium

SCOTUS Justices and Circuit Splits — Tier 3 Family Index

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SCOTUS Justices and Circuit Splits

Catalog of the current US Supreme Court: each Justice’s background, appointment, voting bloc, and recent major-vote authorship; the major SCOTUS decisions of OT 2022–2024; current active circuit splits awaiting resolution; the cert process and shadow docket; circuit court personalities; and the SCOTUS clerkship + Federalist Society / Project 2025 pipeline that drives federal judiciary composition.

1. The Nine Current Justices (as of 2026)

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. (Chief Justice; b. 27 January 1955)

  • Nominated: G.W. Bush (initially associate justice to fill O’Connor seat July 2005, then re-nominated to Chief Justice September 2005 after Rehnquist death)
  • Confirmed: 29 September 2005 (78–22)
  • Prior: Principal Deputy Solicitor General (1989–93), DC Circuit (2003–05), Hogan & Hartson partner; clerked Justice Rehnquist 1980–81
  • Ideology: centrist conservative institutionalist; concerned with Court’s legitimacy and incremental change; “minimalist” approach
  • CJ powers: assigns majority opinion when in majority; runs administration of federal judiciary; presides over impeachment trials of President
  • Notable: NFIB v. Sebelius 2012 (ACA individual mandate as tax) — split conservatives; chief’s joint dissents minimal; Dobbs concurrence (would have upheld 15-week ban without overruling Roe)

Clarence Thomas (b. 23 June 1948)

  • Nominated: G.H.W. Bush (replaced Thurgood Marshall)
  • Confirmed: 15 October 1991 (52–48); Anita Hill hearings
  • Prior: EEOC Chairman 1982–90; DC Circuit 1990–91; Yale Law 1974
  • Ideology: originalist; most conservative; longest-serving current; senior associate justice
  • Notable: Bruen (2A); McDonald v. Chicago concurrence on Privileges or Immunities Clause; Citizens United concurrence; Dobbs concurrence calling for reconsideration of Griswold, Lawrence, Obergefell

Samuel A. Alito Jr. (b. 1 April 1950)

  • Nominated: G.W. Bush (replaced Sandra Day O’Connor)
  • Confirmed: 31 January 2006 (58–42)
  • Prior: Third Circuit 1990–2006; US Attorney NJ; Reagan OLC
  • Ideology: conservative; assertive on constitutional originalism
  • Notable: Dobbs majority author 2022; Hobby Lobby 2014; Janus v. AFSCME 2018; Bostock dissent 2020

Sonia Sotomayor (b. 25 June 1954)

  • Nominated: Obama (replaced David Souter)
  • Confirmed: 6 August 2009 (68–31)
  • Prior: SDNY federal trial judge 1992–98, Second Circuit 1998–2009; first Latina/Hispanic Justice
  • Ideology: liberal; consistently liberal voting record
  • Notable: Dobbs joint dissent (with Breyer + Kagan); Trump v. US dissent (Trump “is now a king above the law”); Loper Bright dissent

Elena Kagan (b. 28 April 1960)

  • Nominated: Obama (replaced John Paul Stevens)
  • Confirmed: 5 August 2010 (63–37)
  • Prior: Solicitor General 2009–10 (first female SG); Harvard Law School Dean 2003–09; never served as judge before SCOTUS
  • Ideology: liberal; pragmatic; respected legal craftsperson across ideological lines
  • Notable: Rucho v. Common Cause dissent (political gerrymandering); persuasive dissents particularly on standing and remedies

Neil M. Gorsuch (b. 29 August 1967)

  • Nominated: Trump (replaced Antonin Scalia; the Garland February 2016 nomination blocked by Senate Republican leadership for nearly a year)
  • Confirmed: 7 April 2017 (54–45; first Justice confirmed with simple majority after Senate filibuster rule change)
  • Prior: Tenth Circuit 2006–17; Kennedy clerk + White clerk (only Justice ever to clerk for a Justice he later served alongside, until retirement); Bush DOJ
  • Ideology: originalist + textualist; libertarian streak particularly on tribal sovereignty + criminal procedure + administrative state
  • Notable: Bostock majority 2020 (Title VII covers sexual orientation/gender identity); McGirt v. Oklahoma 2020 (Creek Reservation never disestablished); West Virginia v. EPA majority

Brett M. Kavanaugh (b. 12 February 1965)

  • Nominated: Trump (replaced Anthony Kennedy)
  • Confirmed: 6 October 2018 (50–48); Christine Blasey Ford testimony
  • Prior: DC Circuit 2006–18; Kenneth Starr deputy; W. Bush Staff Secretary; Kennedy clerk
  • Ideology: conservative; often pivotal “median” alongside Roberts and Barrett post-2020
  • Notable: Bruen concurrence narrowing reach; Dobbs concurrence

Amy Coney Barrett (b. 28 January 1972)

  • Nominated: Trump (replaced Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 8 days after RBG’s death; confirmed 8 days before 2020 election)
  • Confirmed: 27 October 2020 (52–48)
  • Prior: Seventh Circuit 2017–20; Notre Dame Law professor 2002–17; Silberman clerk DC Cir; Scalia SCOTUS clerk
  • Ideology: originalist + textualist; Scalia-trained; recent surprising independence from conservative bloc
  • Notable: Dobbs majority (joining Alito); Trump v. Anderson concurrence; some 2024 cases (Vidal v. Elster, Rahimi concurrence) showed methodological independence

Ketanji Brown Jackson (b. 14 September 1970)

  • Nominated: Biden (replaced Stephen Breyer who retired)
  • Confirmed: 7 April 2022 (53–47); first Black woman Justice; first former federal public defender
  • Prior: DC Circuit 2021–22; US District Court DC 2013–21; US Sentencing Commission vice-chair; federal public defender; Breyer SCOTUS clerk
  • Ideology: liberal
  • Notable: SFFA v. Harvard dissent (recused from Harvard portion; dissented in UNC); Trump v. US dissent; vigorous originalism-skeptical concurrences

2. Voting Blocs (current alignment)

  • Conservatives (6): Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett
  • Liberals (3): Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson
  • Within conservative bloc, two informal sub-groups:
    • Institutionalist — Roberts (often) + Kavanaugh + Barrett (selectively)
    • Originalist/strong conservative — Thomas + Alito + Gorsuch (criminal procedure exception)

3. Major Decisions OT 2022 (decisions through June 2023)

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (24 June 2022; 6–3)

  • Holding: Mississippi 15-week abortion ban constitutional; Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) overruled
  • Majority: Alito (joined by Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett); Roberts concurred in judgment only (would have upheld ban without overruling Roe)
  • Dissent: Breyer/Sotomayor/Kagan joint dissent (final Breyer opinion)

NY State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (23 June 2022; 6–3)

  • Holding: NY’s discretionary “proper-cause” requirement for concealed-carry permits unconstitutional under 2A
  • New test (text-history-tradition): regulation valid only if consistent with 2A’s text and historical American firearm regulation tradition
  • Majority: Thomas

West Virginia v. EPA (30 June 2022; 6–3)

  • Holding: Clean Power Plan exceeded EPA Section 111(d) authority; established Major Questions Doctrine (MQD) as decisional rule
  • MQD: extraordinary cases requiring “clear congressional authorization” for agency action of vast economic and political significance
  • Majority: Roberts

Allen v. Milligan (8 June 2023; 5–4)

  • Holding: VRA Section 2 violated by Alabama congressional map (single Black-majority district where two warranted); reaffirmed Section 2 framework
  • Majority: Roberts (joined by Kavanaugh + 3 liberals); split conservative bloc

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard / UNC (29 June 2023; 6–3 UNC, 6–2 Harvard with Jackson recused)

  • Holding: race-conscious admissions at Harvard and UNC violate 14A Equal Protection / Title VI; ended affirmative action in higher education admissions
  • Majority: Roberts

303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (30 June 2023; 6–3)

  • Holding: First Amendment bars compelling website designer to create wedding sites for same-sex weddings
  • Majority: Gorsuch

Biden v. Nebraska (30 June 2023; 6–3)

  • Holding: Student loan forgiveness plan (USD 430B program under HEROES Act) exceeded executive authority; struck via MQD
  • Majority: Roberts

4. Major Decisions OT 2023 (decisions through June 2024)

Trump v. Anderson (4 March 2024; 9–0 per curiam)

  • Holding: States may not enforce 14A Section 3 disqualification against federal candidates (Colorado Supreme Court reversed); only Congress can enforce against federal officials
  • Per curiam; concurrences emphasizing different rationales

Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo & Relentless Inc. v. DoC (28 June 2024; 6–3)

  • Holding: Chevron v. NRDC (1984) overruled; courts no longer defer to agency interpretation of ambiguous statutes; courts exercise independent judgment under APA Section 706
  • Majority: Roberts
  • Impact: massive administrative-law shift; ~70 SCOTUS decisions and ~17,000 lower-court decisions had cited Chevron

Corner Post v. Federal Reserve Board (1 July 2024; 6–3)

  • Holding: APA’s 6-year statute of limitations under 28 U.S.C. § 2401(a) runs from when plaintiff is injured by rule, not when rule is promulgated; opens decades-old rules to challenge by newly-injured plaintiffs
  • Majority: Barrett

SEC v. Jarkesy (27 June 2024; 6–3)

  • Holding: SEC in-house ALJ proceedings for securities fraud violate 7A right to jury trial in Article III court when government seeks civil penalties
  • Majority: Roberts
  • Impact: rippled across all agencies with in-house adjudication

Trump v. United States (1 July 2024; 6–3)

  • Holding: Presidents have absolute immunity for “core” official acts; presumptive immunity for non-core official acts; no immunity for unofficial acts; evidence of official acts inadmissible in prosecution of unofficial acts
  • Majority: Roberts
  • Dissents: Sotomayor “fear for our democracy”; Jackson separate

Murthy v. Missouri (26 June 2024; 6–3)

  • Holding: No Article III standing for plaintiffs challenging federal government communications with social media platforms (alleged jawboning)
  • Majority: Barrett (joined by Roberts + Kavanaugh + 3 liberals)

Garland v. Cargill (14 June 2024; 6–3)

  • Holding: ATF rule classifying bump stocks as “machineguns” exceeded statute (semiautomatic with bump stock does not fire “by a single function of the trigger”)
  • Majority: Thomas

United States v. Rahimi (21 June 2024; 8–1)

  • Holding: Federal statute disarming domestic-violence restraining-order subjects consistent with 2A under Bruen historical analogy
  • Majority: Roberts; Thomas lone dissent

Moody v. NetChoice / NetChoice v. Paxton (1 July 2024; 9–0 vacate/remand)

  • Holding: Lower courts (5th and 11th Circuits split) had not properly evaluated facial 1A challenges; remanded with First Amendment framework
  • Majority: Kagan

5. Major Decisions OT 2024 (decisions through June 2025, recent at time of writing)

  • TikTok v. Garland (January 2025; 9–0 per curiam) — upheld federal divestiture/ban statute
  • FDA v. Wages and White Lion Investments (April 2025) — vape product PMTA decisions
  • U.S. v. Skrmetti (June 2025; 6–3) — Tennessee SB1 prohibiting puberty blockers/hormone therapy for minors for gender transition upheld
  • Mahmoud v. Taylor (June 2025; 6–3) — Montgomery County MD school district required to allow parental opt-out from LGBT-inclusive book curriculum

6. Notable Dissents

  • Dobbs joint dissent — Breyer/Sotomayor/Kagan; mourning loss of stare decisis on “constitutional liberty”
  • SFFA dissent — Jackson (UNC): historical context of Black exclusion; “deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life”
  • Trump v. US dissent — Sotomayor “in every use of official power, the President is now a king above the law”; Jackson separate dissent
  • Loper Bright dissent — Kagan “stunning” majority; rejected as departing from “judicial humility”
  • Corner Post dissent — Jackson; warned of “tsunami of lawsuits” challenging long-settled regulations

7. Cert Process and Shadow Docket

Cert process

  • Petitions filed: ~7,000–8,000 per term (~7,500 OT 2023)
  • Granted: ~70 cases on merits docket (1 percent)
  • Rule of 4 — requires 4 Justices to vote in favor of granting certiorari
  • Cert pool — pool memo system where one clerk writes single memo per case shared among participating chambers; Alito and Gorsuch have not joined the cert pool (their chambers review independently); other 7 Justices use pool
  • Summary reversal (GVR) — grant, vacate, and remand in light of intervening decision; or summary reverse without merits briefing in clear cases

Shadow docket / emergency applications

  • William Baude (UChicago 2015) coined “shadow docket” — orders + summary dispositions outside merits process
  • Sharp increase 2017–2024 — emergency applications (stays, injunctions pending appeal) growing substantially
  • Notable recent shadow-docket controversies: Texas SB8 (2021 6-week abortion ban; injunction denied 5–4 shadow); Title 42 immigration; OSHA vaccine mandate stay; Roman Catholic Diocese v. Cuomo (2020 COVID restrictions)
  • Typical pace: ~6 emergency applications generating opinions per term (informal estimate); thousands processed at chambers level

8. Active and Recently Resolved Circuit Splits

Mifepristone access (resolved 2024)

  • 5th Circuit (Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA): limited mail dispensing
  • SCOTUS June 2024: dismissed on standing grounds (FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine) — physicians lacked standing

Social media content moderation (resolved 2024)

  • 5th Circuit (NetChoice v. Paxton): Texas HB 20 anti-content-moderation law upheld
  • 11th Circuit (NetChoice v. Moody): Florida SB 7072 mostly enjoined
  • SCOTUS Moody v. NetChoice (July 2024): vacated, remanded for proper facial analysis

Section 230 immunity scope

  • 2nd Circuit Force v. Facebook: 230 protects algorithmic recommendation in terror cases
  • 9th Circuit Gonzalez v. Google: similar
  • SCOTUS Gonzalez 2023 — punted; resolved on Anti-Terrorism Act standing/proximate cause grounds without reaching 230

Bivens claim expansion

  • Hernandez v. Mesa (2020) and Egbert v. Boule (2022) dramatically narrowed Bivens
  • Active splits on every potential Bivens “new context” determination across circuits

Qualified immunity standards

  • Most circuits apply “clearly established law” requirement strictly
  • 6th and 11th Circuit occasional outliers permitting Bivens-equivalent for state actors
  • SCOTUS occasional summary reversals of denials of QI

FAA arbitration delegation

  • Coinbase v. Bielski (2023) — automatic stay of trial-court proceedings during interlocutory appeal of motion to compel arbitration
  • Continuing splits on scope of delegation clauses

Auer / Kisor deference

  • Kisor v. Wilkie (2019) narrowed but did not overrule Auer (sub-regulatory agency interpretation deference); circuits diverge on applying Kisor’s limiting steps

Constitutional standing for false-information claims

  • Multiple circuits divide on TransUnion v. Ramirez (2021) applications; particularly statutory privacy claims (FCRA, VPPA, BIPA, FDCPA)

9. Notable Circuit Court Judges

Ninth Circuit (San Francisco; 29 active judges)

  • Stephen Reinhardt (d. 29 March 2018) — liberal lion; most reversed by SCOTUS
  • Alex Kozinski (resigned December 2017 amid harassment allegations)
  • Lawrence VanDyke, Daniel Bress, Patrick Bumatay — Trump appointees
  • Diarmuid O’Scannlain (senior) — prominent conservative voice

Fifth Circuit (New Orleans; covers TX, LA, MS)

  • Edith Jones (Reagan 1985) — leading conservative; former CJ
  • Don Willett (Trump 2018) — prolific Twitter/X presence; conservative
  • James Ho (Trump 2018) — formerly Texas Solicitor General
  • Andrew Oldham (Trump 2018)
  • Cory Wilson, Kurt Engelhardt, Kyle Duncan, Stuart Kyle Duncan — Trump-era

Eleventh Circuit (Atlanta; covers AL, FL, GA)

  • William Pryor (CJ; Bush 43) — Federalist Society leader; SCOTUS short-lister
  • Kevin Newsom, Britt Grant, Andrew Brasher — Trump appointees

DC Circuit (“second-highest court”)

  • Sri Srinivasan (CJ; Obama 2013)
  • Patricia Millett (Obama)
  • Florence Pan (Biden)
  • Justin Walker (Trump) — McConnell ally; SCOTUS short-list watch

Federal Circuit (patent/IP)

  • Sharon Prost (CJ until 2022; Bush 43)
  • Pauline Newman — suspension proceedings 2024
  • Kimberly Moore (current CJ)

Fourth Circuit (Richmond; covers MD, VA, WV, NC, SC)

  • J. Harvie Wilkinson III (Reagan; senior 2008) — conservative
  • Albert Diaz (CJ; Obama 2010)

Seventh Circuit (Chicago; covers IL, IN, WI)

  • Frank Easterbrook (Reagan; CJ 2006–13) — law-and-economics scholar
  • Diane Sykes (Bush 43; SCOTUS short-list Trump term)
  • Amy Coney Barrett’s home circuit before SCOTUS elevation

10. SCOTUS Clerkship Pipeline

  • Each Justice hires 4 clerks per term (36 total per year; ~40+ counting CJ + retired-Justice clerks)
  • Feeder circuit judges — clerks who clerk for “feeder judges” disproportionately get SCOTUS clerkships
    • DC Cir: Srinivasan, Tatel (retired), Garland (now AG), Henderson, Walker
    • 4th Cir: Wilkinson, Niemeyer
    • 7th Cir: Easterbrook, Sykes (before SCOTUS)
  • Current Justices’ SCOTUS clerkships before joining:
    • Roberts: Rehnquist 1980–81
    • Thomas: never clerked SCOTUS (clerked Sen. John Danforth in MO before judiciary)
    • Alito: never clerked SCOTUS (clerked 3rd Cir Judge Leonard Garth)
    • Sotomayor: never SCOTUS (DA Manhattan ADA)
    • Kagan: Thurgood Marshall 1987–88
    • Gorsuch: Justice White 1993–94, Justice Kennedy 1993–94 (only Justice to clerk for two)
    • Kavanaugh: Justice Kennedy 1993–94; also clerked Walter Stapleton (3d Cir) + Alex Kozinski (9th Cir)
    • Barrett: Justice Scalia 1998–99; Laurence Silberman (DC Cir)
    • Jackson: Justice Breyer 1999–2000; Patti Saris (D Mass); Bruce Selya (1st Cir)

11. Federalist Society and Project 2025

  • Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies — founded 1982 by Yale + UChicago + Harvard law students; ~70,000 members; key intellectual home for conservative legal movement
  • Leonard Leo — longtime co-chair/executive VP; orchestrated Trump SCOTUS shortlist development
  • Heritage Foundation Project 2025 — 922-page Mandate for Leadership policy roadmap published 2023; conservative governance preparation; staffed by veterans of prior Republican administrations
  • Trump 2.0 (sworn-in January 2025) — pursuing Project 2025 deregulatory agenda alongside executive orders rolling back climate, civil rights, regulatory state initiatives

12. Reform Proposals

  • Term limits: 18-year staggered terms (Senate Bill 2024 Markey-Nadler); requires constitutional amendment per most scholars
  • Court expansion: 13 Justices proposed (TRUST Act 2021); requires only statute but politically contentious
  • Ethics code: SCOTUS adopted internal Code of Conduct November 2023 in response to ProPublica reporting on Thomas/Crow + Alito undisclosed gifts; non-enforceable
  • Recusal reform: proposed statutory recusal standards; constitutional questions about Congress regulating SCOTUS

Adjacent Notes

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