Name | Religion | Appt. by | On the Court since |
---|---|---|---|
John Roberts (Chief Justice) | Roman Catholic | G.W. Bush | 2005 |
Antonin Scalia | Roman Catholic | Reagan | 1986 |
Anthony Kennedy | Roman Catholic | Reagan | 1988 |
Clarence Thomas | Roman Catholic | G.H.W. Bush | 1991 |
Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Jewish | Clinton | 1993 |
Stephen Breyer | Jewish | Clinton | 1994 |
Samuel Alito | Roman Catholic | G.W. Bush | 2006 |
Sonia Sotomayor | Roman Catholic | Obama | 2009 |
Elena Kagan | Jewish | Obama | 2010 |
Judicial philosophy...: Purposive approachBreyer's pragmatic approach to the law "will tend to make the law more sensible"; according to Cass Sunstein, Breyer's "attack on originalism is powerful and convincing." In 2006, Breyer said that in assessing a law's constitutionality, while some of his colleagues "emphasize language, a more literal reading of the [Constitution's] text, history and tradition," he looks more closely to the "purpose and consequences." [emphases mine]