Nine (not eight) justices on the Supreme Court of the United States

[Ben]

English Language Proficiency Tests, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #256 "US Judicial System Question Test (1)", question 9

In the highest court level in the country, there are eight Supreme Court judges who decide whether or not an issue is unconstitutional. They are appointed by the ..........

(a) Lawyers
(b) President
(c) Citizens

English Language Proficiency Tests, Advanced Level

ESL/EFL Test #256 "US Judicial System Question Test (1)", answer 9

In the highest court level in the country, there are eight Supreme Court judges who decide whether or not an issue is unconstitutional. They are appointed by the President.

Correct answer: (b) President
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Alito, Breyer, Ginsburg, Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, Souter, Stevens and Thomas.

There are nine (not eight) justices on the Supreme Court of the United States. All nine (not just eight) are involved in deciding cases.

Ben

[Linda]

Hello Ben,
You may be right at this time but I got my information from current, California state, education system textbooks that state there are usually 8 judges who are appointed. For example, (this is from an About US website - US gov't information) "Franklin D. Roosevelt, appointed eight Justices".
Let me know what you think.
_________________
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[Yankee]

There are nine, Linda. If your textbook actually says something different, then you ought to throw it away.

The Constitution does not specify the number of justices on the Supreme Court, leaving the issue to Congress. The first Supreme Court in 1789 consisted of five justices. Initially the justices’ duties included traveling through the country to hear cases in federal circuit courts. Congress added a sixth seat in 1790 and a seventh in 1807 to ease the strain on justices as the number of circuit courts increased. Congress added the eighth and ninth seats in 1837. Membership stayed at nine until 1863, when Congress added a tenth seat, only to abolish it when a justice died in 1865. In 1867 Congress reduced the seats to seven to limit the opportunity of President Andrew Johnson to appoint new members. Congress restored the number of seats to nine in 1869, and in 1891 abolished the Supreme Court justices’ circuit-riding burden. The number of justices has remained fixed at nine, making tie votes unlikely unless circumstances prevent a justice from participating in deliberations.

Source
SCOTUS - current photo

[Pamela]

The excerpt from my textbook ( as I study Law):

[Linda]

Thanks for the information. I changed the question so it doesn't include the number any longer - it works better that way.
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