Less conservative SCOTX justice? (Texas) Forum

[Anonymous User]

From what Googling I have done, all the SCOTX justices seem like fire-breathing conservatives (which is no surprise). In the off chance someone can surprise me - are there any SCOTX justices that are considered less conservative than their colleagues? (bonus question: and would be willing to hire a clerk without any conservative credentials)?

Edit: I meant Texas Supreme Court

[Anonymous User]

Roberts is the new swing vote, and he's joined the four liberal justices a few times. I've also heard that he's open to idealogical diversity among his clerks. Gorsuch similarly has joined the liberal justices at times, although I'm not sure about the idealogy of his clerks.

[Anonymous User]

PM me, OP.

[Anonymous User]

PM me, OP.

Not sure how or if I can do that since you're Anonymous

[Pneumonia]

Feel free to PM me

[lawhawk1836]

PM me, OP.

Not sure how or if I can do that since you're Anonymous

Idiot anon above. PM me here.

[Anonymous User]

Are there none that are publicly known to be more moderate?

[Pneumonia]

Are there none that are publicly known to be more moderate?

The Texas electoral landscape strongly discourages candidates for statewide office (like the SCOTX justices) from cultivating a "moderate" public image. So it is not surprising that the justices' websites and promotional materials make them all look extremely conservative. Still, the justices fall at many points along the conservative spectrum. Some are more concerned with protecting the free market, others with faith and family issues, and still others with small "c" conservative issues like judicial restraint. Some vote like moderates even though their promotional materials don't advertise it. The justices also care to varying degrees about textualism and originalism (some a lot, others very little). Some are Trump supporters and some are not.

Importantly, most justices do not hire ideologically. One part of that is that supply is limited: the best and brightest conservatives students have fairly easy access to the circuit courts via the fedsoc pipeline. Another part is that the court hears almost exclusively civil matters. Many federal constitutional issues that would arise in a state court involve criminal law. So there are only a handful of cases per term that call to mind some of the most prominent divides between liberal and conservative judicial philosophies.

Typically, the 18-person clerk class includes more liberals than conservatives.

[Anonymous User]

Justice Lehrman has fended off a primary challenger who claimed she was not conservative enough. (Similarly, Justice Devine won his seat by primarying David Medina arguing the latter was not conservative enough.) But you have to bear in mind that this is just the way of Republican primaries in Texas, not an actual reflection of the candidates' views or record. Hispanic and female Republican office holders are particularly vulnerable to these kinds of primary challenges because the racist and sexist Republican primary electorate will feel like they are moderate just because of their race or sex.

Pneumonia is absolutely right; the ideology of the justices just isn't very relevant to clerks' experiences. The variation is judicial styles (how much opinion drafting is delegated to clerks? how many additional assignments do they give clerks? how much do they interact with their clerks?) is far more important.