# Why does Supreme court take 3 months off in summer?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 6, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798 "2015-06-06T16:24:27Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/1 "2015-06-06T16:24:27Z")
Is that just tradition?
Congress takes August off . President takes a few weeks off in summer. (or more in some cases)
I know they can rule on death penalty cases in the summer if needed.
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### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/2 "2015-06-06T16:27:14Z")
I believe it is traditional when they were required to ride the circuit. The did it during the summer as that was the best travel weather.
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### Author:  [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/3 "2015-06-06T17:11:36Z")
I think it also has to do with how miserable Washington is in the summer, and pre-AC it could be abysmal. (Through WWII, it was classified as a hardship post by the Brits and the ambassadors etc. were technically allowed to wear tropical clothing - shorts, pith helmets, etc.)
David Brinkley’s book on Washington’s transformation of DC from 1939-1945 is a must-read, IMHO. He makes the clear case that it was a sleepy Southern city before the war, and the booming, massive mess it is today afterwards. I think there’s even a line in there about a Congresscritter objecting to installing AC, since debates and filibusters could then go on indefinitely.
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### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/4 "2015-06-06T17:16:21Z")
Not well known but Supreme Court only got their own building in 1935. Before that they met in the capitol.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/5 "2015-06-06T17:21:19Z")
I think DC also had a malaria issue in the summer months, between being relatively low-lying with mosquito habitat and having malaria in the local mosquitoes. I believe the disease was eliminated from North America, but I forget exactly when. Needless to say, between heat, humidity, and the prospect of illness everyone who could get out of town in the summer did so.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/6 "2015-06-06T17:40:54Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> I believe the disease was eliminated from North America, but I forget exactly when.
Transmission wasn’t effectively eliminated in the US until 1949. My grandmother, who was born in 1900, said that it was a concern when she was growing up even in New York.
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### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/7 "2015-06-06T18:45:34Z")
From both reading _The Brethren_, and just seeing how many cases they actually hear, I get the clear impression that a seat on the Supreme Court is pretty cushy indeed. They even have clerks to do most of their writing. I think they’re pretty lazy, actually
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### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [June 6, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/8 "2015-06-06T19:38:16Z")
they reject over 95% of cases sent to them. But I guess the vast majority of those rejections make sense.
The fact that many of them stay on until their 80s shows it’s not too stressful of a job.
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### Author:  [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/9 "2015-06-07T01:26:32Z")
Basically they take off because they can. And the vast majority hold onto their seats as long as they can, and apparently it’s very hard for even other Supreme Court justices to convince an ailing one to resign.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2015, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/10 "2015-06-07T02:52:32Z")
Supreme Court Justices only make $15000 a year\*. Must of them work second jobs during the summer to tide them over.
\*You can verify this on Wikipedia if you give me five minutes.
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### Author:  [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/11 "2015-06-07T13:42:38Z")
It takes that long to collect bribes and payola and properly launder it through Bermuda?
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/12 "2015-06-07T14:02:48Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> Supreme Court Justices only make $15000 a year\*. Must of them work second jobs during the summer to tide them over.
>
> \*You can verify this on Wikipedia if you give me five minutes.
The salaries for Supreme Court justices are determined by the Federal Salary Act of 1967, as amended. Calculating the actual salary from the mess of statutes and amendments is a chore, but the National Taxpayers Union [says](http://www.ntu.org/foundation/page/salaries-for-members-of-congress-supreme-court-justices-and-the-president) that as of 2015 they are $258,000 for the Chief Justice and $246,800 for the associate justices.
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/13 "2015-06-07T14:14:25Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> Supreme Court Justices only make $15000 a year\*. Must of them work second jobs during the summer to tide them over.
>
> \*You can verify this on Wikipedia if you give me five minutes.
They’re _billionaires_!
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### Author:  [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/14 "2015-06-07T15:16:11Z")
> [@guizot](#):
>
> They even have clerks to do most of their writing. I think they’re pretty lazy, actually
It’s true that an Associate Justice is entitled to four clerks, and the Chief Justice to five, though not all justices hire their full allotment. It’s also true that most of the actual writing of opinions is done by the clerks. This does not mean, however, that there’s not much else to do for the judges. They are the ones signing the opinions with their names, after all, so you’d want to be pretty darn sure that the opinion reflects your views on the matter. The duty of the law clerks is not to decide the case in lieu of the judges; that’s a responsibility nobody can relieve the judges from. The duty of the law clerks is to research literature and case law and to write the findings of facts as well as opinions on the basis of guidance they receive from the judge they’re assigned to. Even though the actual writing work is done by clerks, the judges do take a very close look at the clerks’ drafts to make sure that their guidance is reflected.
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### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/15 "2015-06-07T15:24:07Z")
They have jobs for life to be free from politics. Which is pretty funny now because you can pretty much predict the way they will rule based on the politics of who appointed them.
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### Author:  [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/16 "2015-06-07T19:22:53Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#):
>
> They have jobs for life to be free from politics. Which is pretty funny now because you can pretty much predict the way they will rule based on the politics of who appointed them.
You mean nominated by the President and approved by the Senate.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/17 "2015-06-07T19:27:52Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#):
>
> They have jobs for life to be free from politics. Which is pretty funny now because you can pretty much predict the way they will rule based on the politics of who appointed them.
Although sometimes they surprise the President who appointed them. Brennan and Warren surprised Eisenhower and White surprised Kennedy.
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### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/18 "2015-06-07T20:30:35Z")
I think these days there are way less surprises. I guess Bush Sr. ended up not liking the way Souter ruled. But now they can go back and find out what these people did starting in preschool classes.
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### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/19 "2015-06-07T20:34:08Z")
> [@Schnitte](#):
>
> It’s true that an Associate Justice is entitled to four clerks, and the Chief Justice to five, though not all justices hire their full allotment. It’s also true that most of the actual writing of opinions is done by the clerks. This does not mean, however, that there’s not much else to do for the judges. They are the ones signing the opinions with their names, after all, so you’d want to be pretty darn sure that the opinion reflects your views on the matter. The duty of the law clerks is not to decide the case in lieu of the judges; that’s a responsibility nobody can relieve the judges from. The duty of the law clerks is to research literature and case law and to write the findings of facts as well as opinions on the basis of guidance they receive from the judge they’re assigned to. Even though the actual writing work is done by clerks, the judges do take a very close look at the clerks’ drafts to make sure that their guidance is reflected.
I understand all that completely. The clerks still do most of the heavy lifting, IMHO.
I’m being a little facetious, but I still think they’re kind of shameless in their work to off-time ratio. Especially when you hear some of the questions they ask during oral arguments. It took you that long and this is what you come up with?
ETA:
> [@](#):
>
> Supreme Court Justices only make $15000 a year\*. Must of them work second jobs during the summer to tide them over.
If this is true, then I take back everything I said above.
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### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [June 7, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-supreme-court-take-3-months-off-in-summer/721798/20 "2015-06-07T20:48:35Z")
it’s not well known but sometimes they actually will make minor changes after they send out their opinion. That makes it seem like they need to do a better job of proofreading before they release opinions to the public.
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