Only the justices, their law clerks and a handful of court officials know how this will end.

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He discusses these issues almost exclusively with his law clerks, whom he chooses for their ideological compatibility.

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Alone among his colleagues, Thomas usually selects at least some of his law clerks from less prominent schools.

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So she overcompensated by giving provocative speeches and by serving law clerks queso blanco, a Spanish white-cheese dish.

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Though he has hired some 80 law clerks, none has been black (he responds that he has "never excluded consideration of anyone" based on race).

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"What was clear to me was that he hadn't decided that case before he heard it" at oral arguments, recalled Peter Rubin, one of Souter's law clerks that term.

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Justices and their law clerks are holed up in chambers, furiously working to frame and craft the final opinions, making sure every fact, every footnote, every legal theory is fully checked and articulated.

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Some of what Liptak identifies as increased hiring of Supreme Court law clerks from Republican circuit judges simply reflects the increased number of law clerks from Republican circuit judges because there are today more Republican circuit court judges.

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These court clerks would be on the payroll of a law firm and their allegiances to those firms could create ethical dilemmas, or the appearance of ethical dilemmas.

FORBES: The bad idea file: Keeping corporate courtroom sponsorships secret