The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the court of last resort for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It meets in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

History

The original Pennsylvania constitutions, drafted by William Penn, established a Provincial Court under the control of his British governors. The General Assembly, however, espoused the principle of separation of powers and formally called for a third branch of government starting with the 1701 Judiciary Bill. In 1722, the appointed British governor needed the House to raise revenues. House leaders agreed to raise taxes in return for an independent Supreme Court.

Predating the United States Supreme Court by 67 years, Pennsylvania's highest court was established by the General Assembly on May 22, 1722. Interpreting the Pennsylvania Constitution , it was the first independent Supreme Court in the United States with the power to declare laws made by an elected legislative body unconstitutional.

Supreme Court Justices

Includes justices of the Provincial Court.

• Capt. William Crispin , appointed chief justice by William Penn in 1684 but died at sea on the way to Philadelphia.
• Dr. Nicholas Moore, chief justice 1684
• William Welsh , 1684
• Robert Turner , 1684
• John Eckley , 1684
• William Clarke, 1684, chief justice 1703
• James Clapoole , 1685
• Arthur Cooke , 1685, chief justice 1686
• John Simcock , 1686, chief justice 1690
• James Harrison, 1686
• John Cann , 1686
• Joseph Growden , 1690, chief justice 1707
• Peter Alricks , 1690
• Thomas Wynne , 1690
• Griffith Jones, 1690
• Edward Blake, 1690
• Andrew Robeson , 1692
• William Salway , 1693
• Anthony Morris , 1694
• Cornelius Empston , circa 1698
• Edward Shippen , circa 1699
• William Biles , circa 1699
• John Guest , chief justice 1701
• Robert French , 1701
• Caleb Pusey, 1701
• Thomas Masters , 1701
• Samuel Finney , 1702
• John Guest , 1704, chief justice 1705
• Jasper Yates , 1704
• William Trent , 1704
• Roger Mempesson , chief justice 1706
• Richard Hill, 1711
• Jonathan Dickinson , 1711
• George Roche , 1715
• Robert Assheton , 1716
• David Lloyd , chief justice 1717
• Jeremiah Langhorne , 1726, chief justice 1739
• Dr. Thomas Graeme , 1731
• James Logan, chief justice 1731
• Thomas Griffits , 1739
• John Kinsey , 1743
• William Till , 1743
• William Allen, chief justice 1750
• Lawrence Growden , 1750
• Caleb Cowpland , 1750
• William Coleman , 1758
• Alexander Steadman , 1764
• John Lawrence , 1767
• Thomas Willing, 1767
• Benjamin Chew, chief justice 1774
• John Morton, 1774
• William Augustus Atlee, 1777
• Thomas McKean, appointed chief justice 1777, elected 1784 and 1791
• John Evans, 1777
• George Bryan , 1780
• Jacob Rush , 1784
• George Bryan , 1787
• Edward Shippen , 1791, chief justice 1799
• Jasper Yates , 1791
• William Bradford Jr. , 1791
• Thomas Smith, 1794
• Hugh Henry Brackenridge , 1800
• William Tilghman, chief justice 1806
• John Bannister Gibson , 1816, chief justice 1838
• Thomas Duncan , 1817
• Morton Cropper Rogers , appointed 1826, elected 1842
• Charles Huston , 1826
• John Tod , 1827
• Frederick Smith, 1828
• John Ross, 1830
• John Kennedy, 1830
• Thomas Sergeant , 1834
• Thomas Burnside , 1845
• Richard Coulter , appointed 1846, elected 1847
• Thomas S. Bell , appointed 1846, elected 1847
• Jeremiah S. Black, chief justice 1851
• George Chambers, 1851
• Ellis Lewis , 1851, chief justice 1855
• Walter H. Lowrie , 1851, chief justice 1857
• George W. Woodward , 1852, chief justice 1863
• John C. Knox , 1853
• James Armstrong, 1857
• James Thompson, 1857, chief justice 1867
• William Strong, 1857
• William A. Porter , 1858
• Gaylord Church , 1858
• John M. Read , 1858, chief justice 1872
• Daniel Agnew , 1863, chief justice 1873
• George Sharswood , 1867, chief justice 1879
• Henry W. Williams , 1868
• Ulysses Mercur , 1872, chief justice 1883
• Isaac G. Gordon , 1873, chief justice 1887
• Edward M. Paxson , 1875, chief justice 1889
• Warren I. Woodward , 1875
• James P. Sterrett , 1877, chief justice 1893
• John Trunkey , 1877
• James P. Sterrett , 1878
• Henry Green, 1879, chief justice 1900
• Silas M. Clark , 1882
• Henry W. Williams , 1887
• Alfred Hand , 1888
• J. Brewster McCollum , 1888, chief justice 1900
• James T. Mitchell , 1888, chief justice 1903
• Christopher Heydrick , 1891
• John Dean, 1892
• Samuel Gustine Thompson , 1893
• D. Newlin Fell , 1894, chief justice 1910
• J. Hay Brown , 1899, chief justice 1915
• S. Leslie Mestrezat , 1900
• William P. Potter, 1899
• Samuel Gustine Thompson , 1903
• John P. Elkin , 1905
• John Stewart, 1905
• Robert von Moschzisker , 1910, chief justice 1921
• Robert S. Frazer , 1915, chief justice 1930
• Emory A. Walling , 1916
• Alexander Simpson Jr. , 1918
• Edward J. Fox , 1918
• John W. Kephart , 1919, chief justice 1936
• Sylvester B. Sadler , 1921
• William I. Schaffer , 1920, chief justice 1940
• George W. Maxey , 1930, chief justice 1943
• James B. Drew , 1931, chief justice 1950
• William B. Linn , 1932
• Horace Stern , 1936, chief justice 1952
• H. Edgar Barnes , appointed 1935, elected 1936
• Marion D. Patterson , 1940
• William M. Parker , 1941
• Allen M. Stearne , 1942
• Howard W. Hughes , 1943
• Charles Alvin Jones , 1945, chief justice 1956
• John C. Bell , 1950, chief justice 1961
• Grover C. Ladner , 1950
• Thomas McKeen Chidsey , 1950
• Michal A. Musmanno , 1952
• John C. Arnold , 1953
• Benjamin R. Jones , 1957, chief justice 1972
• Herbert B. Cohen , 1957
• Thomas D. McBride , 1958
• Curtis Bok , 1959
• Michael J. Eagen , 1960, chief justice 1977
• Anne X. Alpern , appointed 1961
• Henry X. O'Brien , 1962, chief justice 1980
• Earl S. Keim , appointed 1962
• Samuel J. Roberts , 1963
• Thomas W. Pomeroy Jr. , 1968
• Alexander F. Barbieri , 1971
• Robert N. C. Nix, Jr., 1972, chief justice 1986
• Louis L. Manderino , 1972
• Israel Packel , appointed 1977
• Rolf Larsen , 1978
• John P. Flaherty Jr. , 1979, chief justice 1996
• Bruce W. Kauffman , 1980
• Roy Wilkinson Jr. , 1981
• William D. Hutchinson , 1982
• James T. McDermott , 1982
• Samuel J. Roberts , chief justice 1983
• Stephen A. Zappala , 1983
• Nicholas P. Papadakos , 1984
• Juanita Kidd Stout , 1988
• Ralph J. Cappy , 1990, chief justice 1998
• Frank J. Montemuro Jr. , 1992
• Ronald D. Castille , 1994
• Russell M. Nigro , 1996
• Sandra Schultz Newman , 1996
• Thomas G. Saylor , 1998
• J. Michael Eakin , 2001
• Max Baer, 2004