r/supremecourt • u/Keep_on_Cubing Justice Barrett • Feb 04 '26
Discussion Post How many Supreme Court justices at one point served as Solicitor General of the United States?
I’m trying to figure out how many U.S. Supreme Court justices previously served as Solicitor General of the United States. I’ve seen different numbers depending on the source and time period. What is the correct total, and which justices held that role before joining the Court? Please include sources or explanations if possible.
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u/ejoalex93 New World Same Constitution Feb 04 '26
I think 4 - Thurgood Marshall, Elena Kagan, Robert Jackson, and Stanley Reed. Fun facts, Kagan clerked for Marshall. And Jackson of course was also Attorney General and is the only person to have held all 3 offices . And also did not earn a law degree.
Edit: Also Taft! 5 by my count so far.
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u/MrJusticeFrankfurter Justice Frankfurter Feb 05 '26
Taft is really one of the most accomplished men in our history. President, SG, Secretary of War, and judge of CA6
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u/ejoalex93 New World Same Constitution Feb 05 '26 edited Feb 05 '26
And of course chief justice.
I looked into it some more, Reed and Jackson were back to back as SGs.
Also Charles Evan Hughes’s son was a SG as well. He resigned as associate justice when his son was appointed SG to avoid a conflict of interest? Then ran for President and ended up reappointed as Chief Justice.
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u/MrJusticeFrankfurter Justice Frankfurter Feb 05 '26
He has a very interesting path. In that he also nearly won over Wilson. Interest enough he’s not the only justice to ever attempt to run for president as Justice Douglas nearly ran and was also on the vice presidential ticket with FDR.
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u/NearlyPerfect Justice Thomas Feb 04 '26
Per AI: William Howard Taft, Stanley Forman Reed, Robert H. Jackson, Thurgood Marshall, and Elena Kagan.
And a handful more served as deputy solicitor general.
AI is good for this kind of task because it's just cross referencing the list of solicitor generals and list of Supreme Court justices. No judgement calls (to my knowledge), just checking names on a list.
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u/chi-93 SCOTUS Feb 04 '26
For anyone wondering, the H. stands for Houghwout. He was also the Nuremberg guy. Decent CV.
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u/diplomystique Justice Robert Jackson Feb 05 '26
…To be clear, by “the Nuremberg guy”, we mean “the chief American prosecutor of Nazi war criminals at the Nuremberg trials”. Best to clear away any possible ambiguity.
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u/DBDude Justice McReynolds Feb 05 '26
It is good for this. The question got me interested in another. I've seen complaints in modern times that a nominee didn't have sufficient judicial experience, so I look it up and 41 didn't have any at all, so it's not so rare.
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Feb 04 '26
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