the justices serve for life unless they want to retire earlier or are impeached. if a justice retires, he or she can still be asked to serve as a judge on a federal court of appeals. new justices are nominated (picked) by the president of the united states, and later must be approved by the united states senate. in february 2022, president joe biden nominated ketanji brown jackson to succeed retiring justice stephen breyer. jackson will become the first female african american supreme court justice.