Associate Justice
Encyclopedia
Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...

 in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme court
State supreme court
In the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system ....

s, and for some other courts in Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 countries, as well as for members of the Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia or FSM is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 islands with c...

, a former United States Trust Territory
United Nations Trust Territories
United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of Nations mandates and came into being when the League of Nations ceased to exist in 1946. All of the trust territories were administered through the UN Trusteeship Council...

. In other common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

 jurisdictions, the equivalent position is called "Puisne Justice
Puisne Justice
A Puisne Justice or Puisne Judge is the title for a regular member of a Court. This is distinguished from the head of the Court who is known as the Chief Justice or Chief Judge. The term is used almost exclusively in common law jurisdictions such as England, Australia, Kenya, Canada, Sri Lanka,...

".

In the United States, judicial panels are non-hierarchical, so an Associate Judge has the same responsibilities with respect to cases as the Chief Judge.

An Associate Judge usually has fewer or different administrative responsibilities than the Chief. Famously, on the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

, the most junior Associate Justice (currently Justice Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 7, 2010. Kagan is the Court's 112th justice and fourth female justice....

), has the task of answering the door when the Justices are in private conference.

There are eight Associate Justices on the United States Supreme Court, and three Associate Justices on the Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia.

In New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, Associate Judges of the High Court of New Zealand
High Court of New Zealand
The High Court of New Zealand is a superior court of New Zealand. It was established in 1841 and known as the Supreme Court of New Zealand until 1980....

 supervise preliminary processes in most civil proceedings. Associate Judges have jurisdiction to deal with such matters as: summary judgment applications, company liquidations, bankruptcy proceedings, and some other types of civil proceedings.http://www.courts.govt.nz/courts/high_court.html In the New Zealand legal system, Associate Judges were formerly known as Masters.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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