How many US Supreme Court justices attended the 2011 State of the Union Address?

Answer 1

Six of the nine justices were in attendance at President Obama's one-year address.

In Attendance

Chief Justice John Roberts

Justice Anthony Kennedy

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Justice Stephen Breyer

Justice Samuel Alito (seen muttering)

Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Absent

Justice John Paul Stevens

Justice Antonin Scalia

Justice Clarence Thomas

To view a photograph of the justices at the State-of-the-Union address, see Related Links, below.

Answer 2

Six of the nine US Supreme Court justices attended President Obama's State-of-the-Union Address in January 2011. The three who declined to attend were Justices Scalia, Thomas and Alito, who are consistently the three most conservative members of the Court.

Answer 3

There are nine justices on the US Supreme Court -- one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices -- who review cases as a group. Congress determines the number of justices needed and formally adjusts the size of the Court via a Judiciary Act, which is ordinary legislation affecting the federal court system. The size of the current Supreme Court was set by the Judiciary Act of 1869.