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Longest-serving U.S. Supreme Court justices
Nearly every U.S. Supreme Court justice has contributed significantly to the understanding and legal application of the Constitution of the United States. Their interpretations have varied over time, of course, but their official rulings have sustained, altered, or eliminated important federal or state laws and accordingly changed life in America. Below is a list of 10 Supreme Court justices who have served the longest terms, dating from their Senate confirmations. The terms of nine of the justices ended with their retirement or death, while the term of one justice—Clarence Thomas—has not yet ended.
| rank | name | length of term | nominated by | known for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Associate Justice William O. Douglas | 36 years, 222 days (April 4, 1939–November 12, 1975) | Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt | His uncompromising defense of the Bill of Rights |
| 2 |  | Associate Justice Clarence Thomas | 35+ years to date (October 15, 1991– ) | Pres. George H.W. Bush | His consistent and uncompromising conservatism |
| 3 |  | Associate Justice Stephen J. Field | 34 years, 266 days (March 10, 1863–December 1, 1897) | Pres. Abraham Lincoln | His belief that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applies to corporations as well as individuals |
| 4 |  | Associate Justice John Paul Stevens | 34 years, 195 days (December 17, 1975–June 30, 2010) | Pres. Gerald Ford | His centrism, or moderate liberalism, resulting from his increasing isolation amid newer and more conservative justices |
| 5 |  | Chief Justice John Marshall | 34 years, 160 days (January 27, 1801–July 6, 1835) | Pres. John Adams | His foundational ruling in Marbury v. Madison (1803), which established the Supreme Court’s power to expound constitutional law and exercise judicial review |
| 6 |  | Associate Justice Hugo Black | 34 years, 31 days (August 17, 1937–September 17, 1971) | Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt | His majority opinion in Korematsu v. United States (1944), which upheld an executive order authorizing the forced internment of Japanese Americans starting in 1942 |
| 7 |  | Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan | 33 years, 319 days (November 29, 1877–October 14, 1911) | Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes | His famous lone dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which denounced the “separate but equal” principle of racial segregation |
| 8 |  | Associate Justice Joseph Story | 33 years, 296 days (November 18, 1811–September 10, 1845) | Pres. James Madison | His majority opinion in Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee (1816), which established the appellate authority of the Supreme Court over the highest state courts in all civil cases involving the federal Constitution, statutes, and treaties |
| 9 |  | Associate Justice (later Chief Justice) William Rehnquist | 33 years, 267 days (December 10, 1971–September 3, 2005) | Pres. Richard Nixon; Pres. Ronald Reagan | His consistent and uncompromising conservatism, based on the original intent of the framers of the Constitution and the authors of individual laws, as well as the common meanings of their words |
| 10 |  | Associate Justice William Brennan | 33 years, 123 days (March 19, 1957–July 20, 1990); Brennan served for five months before his confirmation. | Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower | His majority opinion in Texas v. Johnson (1989), which held that the burning of the U.S. flag is a protected form of speech under the First Amendment |
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