Question

What is the difference between conservative and Liberal Supreme Court Justices?

Answer 1

Generally, conservative justices believe in originalism or strict construction of the Constitution which means that they believe that the Constitution means what it meant to the drafters when it was created or amended. They believe that things not specifically covered in the Constitution should be left to the states. Liberal justices believe that the Constitution is a living document that was designed to change over time. They believe that several amendments to the Constitution read together created substantive due process rights including the right to privacy.

Answer 2

Each Justice of the United States Supreme Court has four law clerks. Law clerks are recent law school graduates who serve for one year as a legal assistant to a Supreme Court Justice. Law clerks are very important to the work of the Court. In each chamber, the Justice and the four clerks form a close-knit intellectual family. It is with their law clerks that Justices are able to speak openly and to engage in a candid give-and-take, testing ideas, theories and approaches as they consider the merits of each case. Moreover, in most chambers the law clerks play a central role in preparing drafts of a Justice's opinions.