Supreme Court Trivia

Let me begin by apologizing for a mass mailing titled “test” that went out on November 27. This was supposed to go out to a small number of people behind the scenes, but through a technical glitch was sent out to the entire mailing list. We own the mistake and are sorry for any inconvenience.

Our guest writer covering Casino Royale continues to need some time off for medical reasons. I haven’t had a trivia newsletter for a while, so let’s all learn something! I’m very interested in institutions, especially government ones. That said, this week we will look at the judicial branch of government with a trivia challenge on the Supreme Court.

Questions

1. Which two justices have appeared on paper money?
2. Who is the only person to serve both as a justice and president?
3. Who served the longest term as Chief Justice?
4. Who served the longest term as an Associate Justice?
5. How many Chief Justices have there been?
6. What is the current annual salary for a Justice?
7. Who is the only Justice to be impeached?
8. On which day of the year does a term begin?
9. Which two presidents appointed the most justices?
10. Who was the oldest justice to serve on the court?
11. Who is the only president to serve a full term who did not appoint any justices?
12. How does the Marshal announce the opening of a session at 10 a.m.?
13. What does “oyez” mean?
14. How many justices does the Constitution mandate on the Supreme Court?
15. What is the proper name for the Supreme Court?
16. When did the court finally get its own building?

Answers

1. John Marshall ($500 bill, 1918 series) and Salmon P. Chase ($10,000 bill, series 1928 and 1934).
2. William Howard Taft.
3. John Marshall, who served 34 years from 1801 to 1835.
4. William Douglas, who served 36.5 years from 1939 to 1975.
5. 17. This is why the current court is known as the “17th Court.”
6. $255,300 for associate justices and $267,000 for the Chief Justice.
7. Samuel P. Chase. He did not get enough votes in the Senate to be removed.
8. The first Monday in October.
9. George Washington is first with 12. Franklin Roosevelt is second with 8.
10. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who served until age 90.
11. Jimmy Carter.
12. He says, “The Honorable, the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting. God save the United States and this Honorable Court!”
13. It means to listen/hear/attend. In French, it is the imperative form of the verb ouïr, meaning to hear. In Spanish, the verb for hear is oyer.
14. It doesn’t say. The exact number is decided by Congress. There have been nine since 1869.
15. The Supreme Court of the United States (also known as SCOTUS).
16. 1935. It met in various other buildings on a temporary basis until it had a home of it’s own.

Sources:

https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-supreme-court/fascinating-facts/

https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/10-fascinating-facts-on-the-supreme-courts-birthday

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyez

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States

Written by: Michael Shackleford