"the Supremes"

[James A. Landau]

1.  I would have thought "the Supremes" meaning the US Supreme Court or the
Justices thereof was an artifact of the post-campaign campaign after the last
Presidential election.  However, I just discovered the same usage in 1994 in,
of all places, Analog Science Fiction magazine.  Does anyone have an earlier
cite?

2.  Probably hopeless, but does anyone have evidence that this expression
was, or was not, derived from the name of the Motown group "Diana Ross and
the Supremes"?

     - Jim Landau