The Ninth Justice -- How Republican Justices Evolve Leftward

The Ninth Justice -- How Republican Justices Evolve Leftward
"their more liberal Republican-appointed colleagues have been moved neither by wisdom, nor by legal principle, nor by general public opinion, but by the leftward march of the intellectual elite, especially in the media and academia.......

.....The justices' reputations are determined in large part by mostly liberal news reporters, commentators and law professors and by liberal feminist, civil rights and professional interest groups such as the American Bar Association.
Newly appointed justices who vote conservative are often portrayed as uncompassionate right-wing ideologues. Those who move leftward win praise for enlightenment. ('I ain't evolving,' the aggressively conservative Thomas has reportedly told clerks.)
And the bright young law clerks -- the justices' closest professional collaborators -- tend to come from elite law schools where conservative professors are rare birds and general public opinion is widely seen as benighted."