A look at nine U.S Supreme Court justices who issued landmark ruling on President Barack Obama's Health Care Reform legislation:
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was nominated by President George W. Bush and took his seat in September 2005. He previously served as Special Assistant to the Attorney General, Associate Counsel to President Ronald Reagan, Principal Deputy Solicitor General for the U.S. Department of Justice and Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Roberts was educated at Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Roberts is considered very conservative, though he has assisted in legal advice for gay rights.
Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice, was nominated by President Reagan and seated in September 1986. He served as Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Council and Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Scalia was educated at Georgetown University, the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, and Harvard University. He is considered a conservative.
Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice, was nominated by President Reagan and took his seat in February 1988. He served at the Federal Judicial Center, the Judicial Conference of the United States, the Committee on Pacific Territories, and was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit in 1975. He was educated at Stanford University, London School of Economics and Harvard Law School. He is generally considered a moderate conservative, and has been the swing vote on numerous occasions.
Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, was nominated by President Bush and took his seat in October 1991. He served as Assistant Attorney General of Missouri, Legislative Assistant to Sen. John Danforth, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was educated at Holy Cross College and Yale Law School, and is considered a conservative.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice, was nominated by President Clinton and took her seat in August 1993. She served the American Civil Liberties Union General Counsel, the National Board of Directors (1974-1980), and was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was educated at Cornell University, Harvard Law School, and Columbia Law School. The oldest member of the court, she is seen by some as the most liberal.
Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice, was nominated by President Clinton and took his seat in August 1994. He served the Senate Judiciary Committee, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and the Judicial Conference of the United States. He was educated at Stanford University, Magdalen College, Oxford, and Harvard Law School. He is generally considered a moderate.
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr., Associate Justice, was nominated by President George W. Bush and took his seat in January 2006. He served as Assistant to the Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey and was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He was educated at Princeton University and Yale Law School. He is thought to be a strong conservative.
Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice, was nominated by President Barack Obama and took her seat in August 2009. She was nominated by President H.W. Bush to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, and served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She was educated at Princeton University and Yale Law School. She is generally considered a liberal voter.
Elena Kagan, Associate Justice, was nominated by President Barack Obama and took her seat in August 2010. She served as Associate Counsel to President Clinton, Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council, and 45th Solicitor General for the U.S. She was educated at Princeton University, Worchester College, Oxford University, and Harvard Law School. As the newest member of the court, she is still unproven, but is generally thought to lean liberal.
Some information for this report was provided by Supreme Court website, NYT, wires