For the first time since 2010, all nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court posed for their traditional group photograph, which also featured the court’s junior member, Neil Gorsuch, appointed by President Donald Trump.
During the occasion on Thursday, the Supreme Court’s official photographer and members of the media had about two minutes to photograph and film the justices — one of the rare instances news cameras are allowed on court premises.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who leads the Supreme Court, sat dead center, and then his associate justices sat or stood on either side of him in order of seniority — the most-senior justice to his right, then the second most-senior justice to his left, and so on.
Time photographer Christopher Morris, one of the 11 photographers who was at the court for the Thursday session, told the magazine there was an air of levity in the room and that the justices seemed to be in a good mood. Except, that is, for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the only one who shows the gravity of who they are and what they represent,” Morris said.
Members of the Supreme Court take a new "family" photo on June 1, 2017. Front row, from left: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Stephen Breyer. Back row, from left: Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Neil Gorsuch. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
The justices only sit for formal photographs when a new member arrives at the court. Longtime court observers refer to the session as the court’s “class” or “family” photo.
The last time the justices gathered for a similar moment was seven years ago, when President Barack Obama appointed Justice Elena Kagan, whom he chose after appointing Justice Sonia Sotomayor a year earlier. Merrick Garland, Obama’s third high court nominee and choice to fill the seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, never got a hearing from the Republican-controlled Senate.
One day after Gorsuch’s swearing-in, Roberts said during a public appearance in New York that the political fight over this latest vacancy may give the public the wrong perception that the new justice is a partisan ideologue.
“The new justice is not a Republican and not a Democrat,” Roberts said. “He is a member of the Supreme Court. But it’s hard for people to understand when they see the process that leads up to it.”
The Supreme Court is now in the home stretch of its current term, which ends in late June and is expected to yield important decisions on immigration, civil rights and religious freedom.
This story has been updated with comment from Time photographer Christopher Morris.
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy (bottom 2nd L) reacts while chatting with Chief Justice John Roberts (C) during a new U.S. Supreme Court family photo including Justice Neil Gorsuch (top R), their most recent addition, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 1, 2017. Also pictured are Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (front row, L-R), Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Elena Kagan (back row, L-R), Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts (seated C) leads Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (front row, L-R), Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Elena Kagan (back row, L-R), Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Neil Gorsuch in taking a new family photo including Gorsuch, their most recent addition, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 1, 2017.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy (bottom L) chats with Chief Justice John Roberts (bottom R) during a new U.S. Supreme Court family photo including Justice Neil Gorsuch (not pictured), their most recent addition, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 1, 2017. Also pictured are Justice Elena Kagan (back row, L-R), Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Sonia Sotomayor. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts (seated L-R), Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Sonia Sotomayor (top L) and Justice Neil Gorsuch (top R) chat during a new U.S. Supreme Court family photo including Gorsuch, their most recent addition, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 1, 2017.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy (L) chats with Chief Justice John Roberts (R) during a new U.S. Supreme Court family photo including Justice Neil Gorsuch (not pictured), their most recent addition, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 1, 2017.
U.S. Justice Neil Gorsuch (top R) leans in to speak to Justice Stephen Breyer (bottom R) as the members of the U.S. Supreme Court including Chief Justice John Roberts (seated L), Justice Clarence Thomas (seated C) and Justice Sonia Sotomayor (top L) gather for a new family photo with Gorsuch, their most recent addition, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 1, 2017.
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts (seated C) leads Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (front row, L-R), Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Elena Kagan (back row, L-R), Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Neil Gorsuch in taking a new family photo including Gorsuch, their most recent addition, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 1, 2017.
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts (seated C) leads Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (front row, L-R), Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Elena Kagan (back row, L-R), Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Neil Gorsuch in taking a new family photo including Gorsuch, their most recent addition, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 1, 2017.
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