Famous American Judges

The first Jewish woman to serve on the US Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. An advocate for gender equality and women's rights, she spent the majority of her legal career championing these causes. She remained professionally active until her death in 2020.

Scalia played an important role as an associate justice of the US Supreme Court for 30 years. Not only was he regarded as one of the most important justices in the history of the court, but he was also considered one of the most influential jurists of the 20th century. He was posthumously honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Jeanine Pirro is an American TV host and author. Over the years, she has made important contributions to The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, a syndicated morning talk show. As a former prosecutor and New York State judge, Jeanine Pirro played an important role in several cases involving crimes against the elderly and domestic abuse.

The first African-American member of the US Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall was an associate justice from 1967 to 1991. Earlier as an attorney, he fought for the abolishment of racial segregation in American public schools. He was also a strong proponent of individual rights. A symbol of black icon, there are numerous memorials in America to honour his legacy.

Sonia Sotomayor, the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of America, entered the record books when in August 2009 she became the first Hispanic and the fourth woman to be appointed to the court. She’s a strong defendant of the rights of accused and has raised her voice against misdemeanors by the police and the prosecutors, and abuses in prisons.

Sandra Day O’Connor is a retired attorney who became the first woman to serve as the associate justice of the Supreme Court of the US when she took office in 1981. While serving as the associate justice, O’Connor was considered one of the most powerful women in the world. In 2009, she was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

Judith Sheindlin is a prosecution lawyer, television personality, and author. Since 1996, she has been presiding over her own arbitration reality court show Judge Judy, which has won four Daytime Emmy Awards. The longest-serving judge in the history of the courtroom-themed program, Judith Sheindlin was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Emmy for her work.

The fourth woman to become part of the Supreme Court of the United States as its member, Elena Kagan was nominated by Barack Obama in 2010 to serve as an Associate Justice of the Court. She played a major role in the Cooper v. Harris case by writing the majority opinion of the case.

Stephen Breyer is an American lawyer, legal scholar, and jurist. Since August 1994, Breyer has been serving as an associate justice of the US Supreme Court after being nominated by President Bill Clinton in May 1994. He is also credited with writing several influential textbooks while working as a lecturer and law professor at Harvard Law School in the 1960s. 

The current associate justice of the Supreme Court of the US, Samuel Alito is only the second Italian American to serve on the court. Samuel Alito's journey from being an adjunct professor to one of the most powerful men in the American justice system is quite inspirational.

David Souter was the associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1990 to 2009. He has also been a prosecutor, the attorney general of New Hampshire, and the associate justice of both the Superior Court and Supreme Court of New Hampshire. He now judges at the circuit court level.

Louis Freeh is an American attorney. From 1991 to 1993, he served as the judge of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. He started his career as an FBI agent and went on to serve as the director of the FBI from 1993 to 2001. He currently works as a consultant in the private sector.

Brett Kavanaugh started serving as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the US after being nominated by Donald Trump in 2018. Interestingly, Christine Blasey Ford accused him of sexually abusing her in the 1980s. Three other women also claimed that they were sexually assaulted by Brett, with one woman recanting her accusation later. Brett has denied all the accusations.

The son of a Union soldier, Kenesaw Mountain Landis was successful US federal judge. He was also the first Commissioner of Baseball and is remembered for his role in the Black Sox scandal, in which he removed eight Chicago White Sox players for deliberately losing the 1919 World Series.

Samuel Chase was one of the founding fathers of the USA. From 1796 to 1811, he served as the Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. He was also a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence.

American lawyer Benjamin Cardozo had served as the Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court. More of a liberal, he supported the modification of existing legal principles to make them more modern. He is remembered for his mild-mannered nature and for his contribution to the American common law.

James Wilson was an American statesman, legal scholar, politician, and founding father of the United States of America. He served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1789 to 1798.  A leading legal theorist, he played a key role in drafting the United States Constitution. He was also a professor of law.