And honestly, while we like to lump them into "conservative" and "liberal" camps for simplicity, it's easy to get the correlation wrong. Like anyone else, their moral and legal philosophies might make them lean one way or another politically, not the other way around. Even for the most extremely political justices, to hear them expound on the legal principles of federalism or human rights is very fascinating.
It's easy to forget that, while they are political appointees, they have to have fairly long careers as acting judges to even qualify for the appointments.
It's easy to forget that, while they are political appointees, they have to have fairly long careers as acting judges to even qualify for the appointments.