The United States Supreme Court is made up of eight associate justices and one chief justice. The chief justice is paid more than associate justices but retains an equal vote as associate justices. The eight associate justices earn a salary of $244,400, while current Chief Justice John Roberts receives $255,500 annually. As Chief Justice, he is responsible for administering the Court and leading the federal justice system. When a Chief Justice dies or resigns, the president may appoint one of the eight existing Associate Justices to the position of Chief Justice or he may appoint an “external” as Chief Justice. This means that there is no way an associate justice can gain seniority and earn the position of chief justice. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The president appoints all judges established by Article III of the United States Constitution, which states: “The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their offices during good conduct, and shall, at appointed times, receive for their services compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continued office and the judges they remain in office, “for good behavior.” This means they can sit as federal judges until they voluntarily resign or die, if they do nothing of importance that would imply poor judgment impeach a federal judge, similar to the impeachment trial of a president, for crimes such as treason and bribery. To ensure the autonomy of the federal judiciary, the United States Constitution prohibits any reduction in the salaries of federal judges during their terms. . These two protections ensure that an independent judiciary decides cases without fear of backlash from the public for its decisions on the law. The Supreme Court has not always had nine justices. When the court was created in 1789, President George Washington created the first U.S. Supreme Court, winning six justices from the Senate. President Washington appointed eleven judges during his term as president of the United States of America. So far, he has the record of appointing the most judges during his presidential term and winning the most approvals for the position. President George Washington originally chose John Jay as supervisor as chief justice and John Blair, William Cushing, Robert Harrison, John Rutledge, and James Wilson as associate justices. On September 26, the United States Senate approved these justices for the first United States Supreme Court. On February 1, 1790, the first session of the United States Supreme Court was held in New York. The number of judges evolved several times; In 1807, Congress increased the number of justices to seven; in 1837 the number rose to nine; and in 1863 it peaked at 10. The Judicial Circuits Act, passed by Congress in 1866, increased the number of justices to seven and prevented President Andrew Johnson from selecting anyone new to the court. Three years later, in 1869, Congress increased the number of Supreme Court justices to nine, a number that has remained ever since. The most recent attempt to change the size of the Supreme Court came in 1937, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt offered the Senate a plan to reorganize the court. President Franklin D.'s proposal.