Sorcerers' Apprentices: 100 Years of Law Clerks at the United States Supreme Court

by Artemus Ward, David L. Weiden

Law clerks have been a permanent fixture in the halls of the United States Supreme Court from its founding, but the relationship between clerks and their justices has generally been cloaked in secrecy. While the role of the justice is both public and formal, particularly in terms of the decisions a justice makes and the power that he or she can wield in the American political system, the clerk has historically operated behind closed doors. Do clerks make actual decisions that they impart to justices, or are they only research assistants that carry out the instructions of the decision makers--the justices?

Based on Supreme Court archives, the personal papers of justices and other figures at the Supreme Court, and interviews and written surveys with 150 former clerks, Sorcerers' Apprentices is a rare behind-the-scenes look at the life of a law clerk, and how it has evolved since its nineteenth-century beginnings. Artemus Ward and David L. Weiden reveal that throughout history, clerks have not only written briefs, but made significant decisions about cases that are often unseen by those outside of justices' chambers. Should clerks have this power, they ask, and, equally important, what does this tell us about the relationship between the Supreme Court's accountability to and relationship with the American public?

Sorcerers' Apprentices not only sheds light on the little-known role of the clerk but offers provocative suggestions for reforming the institution of the Supreme Court clerk. Anyone that has worked as a law clerk, is considering clerking, or is interested in learning about what happens in the chambers of Supreme Court justices will want to read this engaging and comprehensive examination of how the role of the law clerk has evolved over its long history.

Genres: Law

352 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Artemus Ward is Professor of Political Science at Northern Illinois University.

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an academic book about the role of Supreme Court clerks, but it is also a terrific, intriguing read, well worth the time of anybody interested in clerkships or the Court. The book follows the historical development of the Supreme Court clerkship, including the selection process, the role of the cert pool, and the evolution of clerks' work writing opinions. The book develops an argument about how influential the clerks really are that strikes me as realistic and measured. It's definitely academic - if you're looking for gossip about the Court or big policy proposals, they're not here, but the book does take on a topic rarely addressed and the excerpts from primary sources (i.e. memos from clerks to their justices, justices notes from clerkship interviews, etc.) are lots of fun and are enlightening (as nerdy as that sounds). I highly recommend it.

[~D~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had enough interesting behind-the-scenes info about the Court to keep me interested through its prolix explanations of data from its survey. A must read for Court watchers, but a tedious read too.

[Ann McReynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

A witty and informative view of the work of the young men and women who work in the inner sanctum of the nation’ highest court. Together with Todd Peppers’ “Courtiers of the Marble Palace”, these two books clarify their possible influence in the initial review of thousands of petitions each year.

[Kyle Witherspoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A more scholarly approach to the same topic as "In Chambers," which is exactly what I wanted and expected. The data and analysis goes up through the Rhenquist Court in 2002, and is very interesting. More interesting at this point, however, is how well it (unintentionally) sets the stage for a follow-up work. The time for that, I think, is coming soon. We have ten more years of data, four new justices, nearly eight years since the birth of the Roberts Court, and a shift in public perception of the Court. I'd be very interested to see a follow-up some time in the next five years.

[Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly interesting study of the influence of Supreme Court law clerks on the decisions they work on. Granted, it does take a certain level of judicial wonkery to get into something like this, but if you're at all interested in the process of where the Court's decisions come from, you will likely enjoy this.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conclusion is simple--clerks are exerting a bit more influence, in subtle ways (mainly on opinion length and "reasoning," such as it is), as there have come to be more of them--but the authors' chapters offer some quantitative and qualitative evidence to support the point. A useful companion piece to memoirs written by court clerks, like Wilkinson's Serving Justice.

[Jane]

I read the first 100 pages or so quickly and was so interested.
I don't know what happened. I guess I got sick and lost interest.