<P> The Roberts Court (2005--present) is regarded by some as more conservative than the Rehnquist Court . Some of its major rulings have concerned federal preemption (Wyeth v. Levine), civil procedure (Twombly - Iqbal), abortion (Gonzales v. Carhart), climate change (Massachusetts v. EPA), same - sex marriage (United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges) and the Bill of Rights, notably in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (First Amendment), Heller - McDonald (Second Amendment) and Baze v. Rees (Eighth Amendment). </P> <P> Article III of the United States Constitution does not specify the number of justices . The Judiciary Act of 1789 called for the appointment of six "judges ." Although an 1801 act would have reduced the size of the court to five members upon its next vacancy, an 1802 act promptly negated the 1801 act, legally restoring the court's size to six members before any such vacancy occurred . As the nation's boundaries grew, Congress added justices to correspond with the growing number of judicial circuits: seven in 1807, nine in 1837, and ten in 1863 . </P> <P> In 1866, at the behest of Chief Justice Chase, Congress passed an act providing that the next three justices to retire would not be replaced, which would thin the bench to seven justices by attrition . Consequently, one seat was removed in 1866 and a second in 1867 . In 1869, however, the Circuit Judges Act returned the number of justices to nine, where it has since remained . </P> <P> President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to expand the Court in 1937 . His proposal envisioned appointment of one additional justice for each incumbent justice who reached the age of 70 years 6 months and refused retirement, up to a maximum bench of 15 justices . The proposal was ostensibly to ease the burden of the docket on elderly judges, but the actual purpose was widely understood as an effort to "pack" the Court with justices who would support Roosevelt's New Deal . The plan, usually called the "court - packing plan," failed in Congress . Nevertheless, the Court's balance began to shift within months when Justice Willis Van Devanter retired and was replaced by Senator Hugo Black . By the end of 1941, Roosevelt had appointed seven justices and elevated Harlan Fiske Stone to Chief Justice . </P>

When did the us supreme court have 9 justices