The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Established by Article III of the Constitution, the detailed structure of the court was laid down by the 1st United States Congress in 1789. Congress specified the Court's original and appellate jurisdiction, created 13 judicial districts, and fixed the initial size of the Supreme Court. The number of justices on the Supreme Court changed six times before settling at the present total of nine in 1869. As of June of 2022, a total of 116 justices have served on the Supreme Court since 1789.https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/faq_justices.aspx#:~:text=FAQs%20%2D%20Supreme%20Court%20Justices,there%20have%20been%20116%20Justices. Justices have life tenure, and so they serve until they die in office, resign or retire, or are impeached and removed from office.
Justices are nominated by the President of the United States and then must be confirmed by the United States Senate, before being officially appointed. A nomination to the Court is considered to be official when the Senate receives a signed nomination letter from the president naming the nominee, which is then entered in the Senate's record. There have been 37 unsuccessful nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States. Of these, 11 nominees were rejected in Senate roll-call votes, 11 were withdrawn by the president, and 15 lapsed at the end of a session of Congress. Six of these unsuccessful nominees were subsequently nominated and confirmed to seats on the Court.<ref name= Additionally, although confirmed, seven nominees declined office and one died before assuming office.
18th century
George Washington
Among the six original nominees to the Supreme Court, George Washington nominated Robert H. Harrison, who declined to serve. The seat remained empty until the confirmation of James Iredell in 1790.
Washington nominated William Paterson for the Supreme Court on February 27, 1793. The nomination was withdrawn by the President the following day. Washington had realized that since the law establishing the positions within the Supreme Court had been passed during Paterson's term as a Senator (a post he had resigned in November 1790 after being elected Governor of New Jersey) the nomination was a violation of Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution. Washington re-nominated Paterson to the Court on March 4, 1793, after the expiration of what would have been Paterson's term as Senator had he not resigned, and Paterson was confirmed by the Senate.
John Jay resigned as Chief Justice on June 29, 1795, after being elected Governor of New York. The subsequent nomination of John Rutledge as Chief Justice was rejected by a vote of 10–14 on December 15, 1795. Rutledge's strident and vocal opposition to the Jay Treaty may have been the main reason for his rejection. Because he had been a recess appointment, Rutledge served as Chief Justice for one term. Washington nominated Associate Justice William Cushing to replace him as Chief Justice, but Cushing declined the role. Washington then successfully appointed Oliver Ellsworth to serve as the next Chief Justice.
John Adams
After Oliver Ellsworth decided to resign from the position of Chief Justice, President John Adams sought to replace Ellsworth with John Jay, who had been the first Chief Justice. Jay was formally nominated, but turned down the position. Adams then successfully nominated his Secretary of State, John Marshall.
19th century
James Madison
When William Cushing died, James Madison nominated Levi Lincoln Sr. on January 2, 1811. Lincoln declined the nomination. Alexander Wolcott was then nominated, but was rejected by a vote of 9–24 on February 13, 1811. After John Quincy Adams declined a nomination, Madison was finally successful in filling the seat with his appointment of Joseph Story.
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams nominated John J. Crittenden on December 18, 1828. The Senate postponed the vote on his confirmation, by a vote of 23–17, on February 12, 1829. The Senate did not explicitly vote to "postpone indefinitely", but the resolution did have that effect. President Andrew Jackson instead filled the position with John McLean.
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson nominated Roger B. Taney on January 15, 1835, to be an Associate Justice. A resolution was passed by a Senate vote of 24–21 on March 3, 1835, to postpone the nomination indefinitely. Jackson nominated Taney again on December 28, 1835. After the political composition of the Senate changed the next year, Taney was confirmed as Chief Justice March 15, 1836.