Can an associate justice be called justice?

[GoodTaste]

Ignoring the science regarding duration of contact, Justice Neil Gorsuch taunted, in his concurrence, “it may be unsafe to go to church, but it is always fine to pick up another bottle of wine, shop for a new bike, or spend the after- noon exploring your distal points and meridians.” (Source: NEJM)

Britannica:
Neil Gorsuch, in full Neil McGill Gorsuch, (born August 29, 1967, Denver, Colorado), associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 2017.

According to Britannica and most of materials online, Gorsuch is an associate justice. Now the NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) article calls him "justice"? Is it proper in English? A vice president can not be called president, after all.

 

[Rover_KE]

Our American members will no doubt answer this in two or three hours.

 

[probus]

This Canadian wants to have a go.

As usual, the NEJM's English is fine. The Encyclopedia Brittanica is technically correct that Gorsuch is an Associate Justice, but their usage is a bit odd because all the judges of the US Supreme Court are Associate Justices except the Chief Justice. Therefore they are nornally referred to simply as Justice so-and-so.