Supreme Court Associate Justice
In the summer of 1789, Rutledge was nominated by President George Washington to be the first associate justice on the newly established United States Supreme Court. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 25, 1789, and received his commission the same day. On March 4, 1791, Rutledge, without ever having had the opportunity to decide a case, resigned from the U.S. Supreme Court in order to become Chief Justice of the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas and Sessions.
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