chief justice

chief justice, the presiding judge in the Supreme Court of the United States and the highest judicial officer of the nation. The chief justice is appointed by the president of the United States with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate and has life tenure. The primary functions of the office are to preside over the Supreme Court in its public sessions when the Court is hearing arguments and during its private conferences when it is discussing and deciding cases. Chief justices serve as chair of the Court and have authority to assign the writing of opinions when they are members of the majority; otherwise their powers are the same as those of other Supreme Court justices. The chief justice customarily administers the oath of office to the president and vice president at the time of their inauguration. The chief justice is also the presiding officer of the Judicial Conference of the United States, an assembly of judges representing all the federal courts that reviews and investigates problems relating to the administration of justice in those courts.

When the office is occupied by a person of extraordinary intellectual capacity and dynamic personality, as was the case with John Marshall (served 1801–35), the chief justice may exert a great influence on the court’s work. Occupants of the centre chair who are lesser figures are likely to be overshadowed by other members of the court.

The title of chief justice is also usually accorded to the presiding judicial officer within any multi-judge court, as well as to the highest judicial officer within a state of the United States. In the United Kingdom the title of lord chief justice is held by the officer presiding over the judiciary of England and Wales.