chief justice

[ cheef juhs-tis ]

noun

1. Law. the presiding judge of a court having several members.
2. (initial capital letters) Official_title Chief Justice of the United States. the presiding judge of the U.S. Supreme Court.

chief justice

noun

1. (in any of several Commonwealth countries) the judge presiding over a supreme court
2. (in the US) the presiding judge of a court composed of a number of members

Derived Forms

• chief justiceship, noun

Other Words From

• chief jus·tice·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of chief justice¹

First recorded in 1685–95

Example Sentences

This has been around at least since the 1960s, when former Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist was involved in “Operation Eagle Eye,” a Republican voter suppression operation in Arizona.

From Salon

At his farewell on Friday, the outgoing chief justice said he was perhaps India’s most trolled judge, but his “shoulders are broad enough to accept all criticism”.

From BBC

That’s a question Dhananjay Yashwant Chandrachud, who retired as India’s 50th chief justice on Sunday, asked just weeks before he finished his term.

From BBC

Justice Chandrachud served more than eight years as a top court judge and as chief justice for the past two years.

From BBC

According to Arghya Sengupta of the Vidhi Centre For Legal Policy, the jurist was India's most prolific chief justice who wrote 93 judgements - more than his last four predecessors put together – including some on matters of seminal importance.

From BBC