[Political Junkie Too]

Having law clerks — who have not been confirmed by the Senate — actually contributing to Supreme Court decisions also sounds like a serious Constitutional violation.

I don't know...

That's like having aides and lobbyists contributing to the writing of legislation.

On the other hand, even if aides and lobbyists do contribute to writing legislation, that legislation goes through committee review, floor debate, two chambers of Congress voting on it, and Presidential signature (unless you have to vote on it to find out what's in it).

Supreme court decisions have nowhere near that kind of vetting before a decision is handed down, which is why we have to rely on the best behavior and judgement of the Justices to know that they gave these top issues of national importance the highest level of prudence.

-PJ

[ClearCase_guy]

At a minimum, I’d like to be able to see a Justice say, “I agree with this decision / I dissent from this decision”. I don’t especially mind if the clerks did the thinking and the typing. But if the Justice isn’t willing or able to say “I own it”, then it’s just some law student trying to run the country without permission.