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Monday, March 06, 2006
Courts - The influence of court clerks
Charles Lane of the Washington Post has an article today headed "The Varying Influence of Clerks" that discusses a new book on the topic. Some quotes:
Much has nevertheless been written on the behind-the-scenes power of these strong-minded but inexperienced aides, most memorably in Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong's 1979 book, "The Brethren," and in "Closed Chambers," published in 1998 by former clerk Edward Lazarus.Now two political scientists have produced their take on the topic, provocatively titled "Sorcerers' Apprentices: 100 Years of Law Clerks at the United States Supreme Court." The book's authors, Artemus Ward and David L. Weiden, argue that the clerks have more power than they used to have, and probably more power than they should.
The "institution of the law clerk has been transformed into a permanent bureaucracy of influential legal decision makers, scarcely resembling its original incarnation," they write. "Today, voting and editing largely defines the role of a Supreme Court justice. Clerks are now responsible for the raw material that goes into the Court's opinions."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 6, 2006 01:12 PM
Posted to Courts in general