Clerk Work

Interesting article in The New York Times on Supreme Court clerks.  The claim is the Justices' picks are more ideologically polarized (especially the conservatives) than they used to be.  The argument is questionable, from the methodology to the conclusions.

Is this missing the forest for the trees?  Maybe it's good to have a politically diverse slate of clerks, maybe it doesn't matter, but when it comes down to it, what is their job?  It's the Justices who are supposed to apply their wisdom and experience (not to mention writing skills) in creating opinions, not the clerks.  I've got nothing against the clerks--I count a number among my friends.  But I don't think they should be influencing how the Court comes down on cases any more than should the Supreme Court janitor.

The piece quotes Richard Posner. (I've met most of his clerks, and I don't think he cares what their politics are.) He appears to be one of the few major judges these days who still writes his own opinions. On the Supreme Court, all the Justices apparently supervise the opinions their clerks write.  This is a scandal.  Clerks should help do research, and get the cites right, but any Justice who lets a clerk write the first draft is not doing her job.