Supreme Court of the United States - Roberts Court 2022

''Justice'' (

abbreviation An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening (linguistics), shortening, contraction (grammar), contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened for ...

: ame ''J.'' and other variations) is an

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

and title traditionally used to describe a

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

who is currently serving or has served on a

supreme court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

or some equal position. In some countries, a justice may have had prior experience as a

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

or may have been appointed with no prior judicial experience. It is predominantly used today in the United States to distinguish those who serve on the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

from judges who serve on a

lower court A lower court or inferior court is a court from which an appeal may be taken, usually referring to courts other than supreme court. In relation to an appeal from one court to another, the lower court is the court whose decision is being revie ...

. Other countries, such as New Zealand and India, similarly use the title as a form of address for members of their highest courts.

Etymology

The title of ''justice'' is derived from the Latin root ''jus'' (sometimes spelled ''ius'') meaning something which is associated with law or is described as just. It is different from the word ''judge'' in that different suffixes were added to form both words, and that the usage of the term ''justice'' predates that of ''judge''. It first appeared in the year 1137, within the

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of ...

, nearly 200 years before the first appearance of ''judge''. The term ''justice'' developed over time to incorporate a meaning different from that of a ''judge'' with the difference continuing after the period of

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

. The earliest record using the word ''justice'' to describe an official appears in ''La Vie de Saint Thomas Becket'', a French biography of

Saint Thomas of Canterbury Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

written in 1172. Its usage of the word ''justice'' referred to a judge in the service of the

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

. These early justices were members of French

high society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

and were primarily administrators rather than those with formal training in legal affairs.Boatright, p. 739.

Usage

England and Wales

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

, judges may be known as "Mr Justice ..." or "Mrs Justice ...", for example Mr Justice Goss and Mrs Justice Arbuthnot.

United States

The United States Supreme Court consists of eight associate justices, headed by one chief justice. Each is titled ''justice'' whereas judges on the

district court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

s and courts of appeals are called ''judges''.Boatright, p. 742. Though those appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court are usually lawyers, there is no requirement to be a judge or to have any prior experience serving in a lower court. A current example of this is Justice

Elena Kagan Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was Elena Kagan Supreme Court nomination ...

, who served as a U.S. Solicitor General and was the

Dean of Harvard Law School The dean of Harvard Law School is the head of Harvard Law School. The current dean is John F. Manning—the 13th person to hold the post—who succeeded Martha Minow in 2017. List of deans of Harvard Law School Founded in 1817, Harvard Law Schoo ...

prior to her appointment in 2010. Within state courts, those who serve on the highest appellate court are likewise called justices, whereas those who serve on lower courts are judges. In most states, they are legally designated as justices, rather than as judges, with the only exception being

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, where the title is divided between a civil and criminal court. Judges on a state's lower courts are also legally designated, with the exception being only a few states.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Cite book , title=Oxford English Dictionary , publisher=

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...