united-states legal-history us-supreme-court
Why do Supreme Court Justices call each other &quot;Brother&quot;?
<p>Take the case of <em><a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/430/387">Brewer v. Williams</a>.</em> In his concurrence, Justice Marshall writes,</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I concur wholeheartedly in my Brother STEWART's opinion for the Court</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I recall seeing this in other concurrences, though not come to mind immediately. I also assume that, for female justices, "Sister" is used.</p>

<p>When did this odd tradition come about?</p>

<p>The author Bob Woodward wrote a book about the Supreme Court called "The Brethren" exactly because of this. </p>

<p>The point was to set a civil tone on the court. When the first female Supreme Court justice O'Connor joined the court in 1981 the use decreased and I don't believe that a female justice has ever been referred to as sister.</p>

<p>I do not know when this tradition started.</p>

<p>References:</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://a.co/9aj4H4W" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Brethren by Bob Woodward</a></li>
<li><a href="http://joshblackman.com/blog/2011/02/28/the-use-of-the-term-brother-and-brethren-in-supreme-court-opinions/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://joshblackman.com/blog/2011/02/28/the-use-of-the-term-brother-and-brethren-in-supreme-court-opinions/</a></li>
</ul>
