Has there ever been a Supreme Court Justice who hadn't been a judge before

[Poiuyt]

Talk about starting at the top!

[LisaM]

1. Well, Rehnquist for one

apparently there have been 19.

[Zuni]

2. over 30

[jobycom]

3. Earl Warren

[Marnieworld]

4. Has there ever been a nominee chosen from a POTUS admin. ?

No bench experience and straighat out of the policy arm of the White HOuse. It's a joke.

[FSogol]

6. Kennedy picked Byron White who was the Asst. AG and not a judge. nt

[tx_dem41]

7. Off the top of my head, William O. Douglas by FDR...

and Rehnquist by Nixon. I'm certain there are a few others.

[incapsulated]

8. Exactly

Other than making your brother Attorney General, a Democratic trick, this takes the cake. Why not nominate Rove for fucks sake? What does it matter anymore.

[tx_dem41]

5. On NPR, they stated 37. Which makes it a significant number. n/t

[Kenroy]

9. Yes

Many of them, including Earl Warren and William Rehnquist.

[Hepburn]

10. Yes...

..actually a lot of them were not sitting judges prior to appointment. But, they did have some kind of experience. Miers is even light on her appellate work as an atty.

[John Q. Citizen]

12. Not just an attorney, a (gasp) trail lawyer! sarcasm off

[northzax]

11. Taft, Marshall, among others

and roberts was a judge for what, 18 months? it's not that big of a deal.

[CBGLuthier]

13. a judge and a justices jobs are very different

A judges duty, usually, is to ensure fair trials and act as a sort of referee.

The justices at the SC level primarily deal with strictly constitutional issues about cases that have usually been tried or in some cases denied being tried as in civil lawsuits that are denied.

I don't personally see where being a judge would be an automatic qualifier for being a SC justice.

[Journeyman]

14. Thank you, notmypresident. . .

In all the bandying about with this issue, your's is the first post to deal head-on with the issue of qualifications. And you're so very right: this is not a judge who's being seated, it's a Supreme Court justice, an entirely different position.

To your conclusion I'd add that even a degree in law isn't necessary for being a justice. A proven history of well-reasoned thought, judicious discernment, and proven capacity for expression -- no matter what field of endeavor the candidate has chosen -- would prove far more valuable than simple knowledge of the minutiae of law.

[NaturalHigh]

15. Lots of them.

It's not unusual.