This week's question was, What’s the average length of a Supreme Court vacancy since 1962 when measured from the retirement announcement to confirmation of a successor?
You answered: 419 days.
The correct answer was 132 days.
When vacancy is defined as the length of time between the date at which a Justice announced his or her retirement and the confirmation date of their successor, the average length is 132 days. The longest vacancy is, again, between the terms of Scalia and Gorsuch at 419 days, followed by Fortas and Blackmun at 363 days. But the third longest, under this definition, is between the terms of Earl Warren and Warren Burger, at 361 days. Warren announced his retirement on June 13, 1968, almost a year before he officially left the bench on June 23, 1969.
In cases where a Justice died and no retirement announcement took place, we used their departure date. On several occasions, Justices officially retired on the same day as their announcement.
Click here to learn more about the historical context for Supreme Court vacancies.
| Supreme Court vacancy lengths, 1962 - 2020, retirement announcement to confirmation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justice | Retirement announcement date/departure date | Successor | Confirmation date of successor | Length of vacancy (days) |
| Ruth Bader Ginsburg | 9/18/2020 | Amy Coney Barrett | 10/26/2020 | 38 |
| Anthony Kennedy | 6/27/2018 | Brett Kavanaugh | 10/6/2018 | 101 |
| Antonin Scalia | 2/13/2016 | Neil Gorsuch | 4/7/2017 | 419 |
| John Paul Stevens | 4/9/2010 | Elena Kagan | 8/5/2010 | 119 |
| David Souter | 4/30/2009 | Sonia Sotomayor | 8/6/2009 | 99 |
| Sandra Day O'Connor | 7/1/2005 | Samuel Alito | 1/31/2006 | 215 |
| William Rehnquist | 9/3/2005 | John Roberts | 9/29/2005 | 26 |
| Harry Blackmun | 4/7/1994 | Stephen Breyer | 7/29/1994 | 114 |
| Byron White | 3/19/1993 | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | 8/3/1993 | 138 |
| Thurgood Marshall | 6/27/1991 | Clarence Thomas | 10/15/1991 | 111 |
| William Brennan, Jr. | 7/20/1990 | David Souter | 10/2/1990 | 75 |
| Lewis Franklin Powell | 6/26/1987 | Anthony Kennedy | 2/3/1988 | 223 |
| Warren E. Burger | 6/17/1986 | Antonin Scalia* | 9/17/1986 | 92 |
| Potter Stewart | 6/18/1981 | Sandra Day O'Connor | 9/21/1981 | 95 |
| William O. Douglas | 11/12/1975 | John Paul Stevens | 12/17/1975 | 35 |
| John Marshall Harlan | 9/23/1971 | William Rehnquist | 12/10/1971 | 78 |
| Hugo Black | 9/17/1971 | Lewis Franklin Powell | 12/6/1971 | 80 |
| Earl Warren | 6/13/1968 | Warren E. Burger | 6/9/1969 | 361 |
| Abe Fortas | 5/14/1969 | Harry Blackmun | 5/12/1970 | 363 |
| Tom Clark | 2/18/1967 | Thurgood Marshall | 8/30/1967 | 193 |
| Arthur Goldberg* | 7/25/1965 | Abe Fortas | 8/11/1965 | 17 |
| Felix Frankfurter | 8/28/1962 | Arthur Goldberg | 9/25/1962 | 28 |
| Charles Evans Whittaker | 3/29/1962 | Byron White | 4/11/1962 | 13 |
| Note:* Technically, Burger was succeeded by Rehnquist as Chief Justice. Scalia was then appointed to succeed Rehnquist as an Associate Justice. We were unable to confirm Goldberg's announcement date. The date used is his departure date. | ||||