How is the U.S. supreme court configured relative to the number of judges?

Question

How is the U.S. supreme court configured relative to the number of judges?

Answer 1

I'm pretty sure its always been 9 on Supreme Court

certainly not proportionate ever

The odd number is to prevent having 'tie' votes on issues. As for the number (9), that was set by Congress, by the 'Circuit Judge Act' of 1869.

Answer 2

The U.S. Constitution merely establishes the fact that the Supreme exists. Congress can establish other courts and fix the size of the Supreme Court. Originally, the Supreme Court contained six justices.  However, the Court came to have more justices over time. The one advantage of an odd number of justices is that a tied vote is more difficult.  

Answer 3

Weird question, I'm not sure I understand it.

It's configured around 9 justices, but not all take part in every Supreme Court Case. For instance in Asahi, a famous jurisdiction case, Scalia went his own way, leaving a pluarity on each side. 4 for jurisdiction, 4 for no jurisdiction.