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ae x z S, * etal iB. U.S. News & World Report 8 THE BRIGHT YOUNG MEN BEHIND THE BENCH | - Here, for the first time, is the story of the 18 young men who make up the “second team” on the U.S. Supreme Court. --These Government employes are called “law clerks.” Some critics of the Court contend - that the nine Justices rely too much on the oid of their clerks in reaching decisions. . a. i - Working with the Supreme Court of the United States are 18 young men. These men are described as “law clerks” ) and are chosen by the Justices as their i personal aides. ~ The role played by Jaw clerks in administering justice in this country long has been a subject of comment. Reported -- facts about that role, however, are few. This group of Government employes -+ shows lithe willingness to discuss the work that they do or even to throw light on their own backgrounds. All this has given rise to reports in official circles in Washington that some- times these law clerks exercise an influ. ence upon the Justices that is reflected in the opinions handed down by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court today is very much in the- news. The Court’s members have been widely criti- cized for moving into fields ouce regarded as reserved for the Con- gress and for the executive branch of Government. In a period when the Supreme Court is asserting its power in- a way seldom experi- enced in the country’s history, all facts about the Court take on spt- cial importance, Who's on “second team.’ The Aincrican people are acqnainted with the public lives of the Chief Justice and the eight Associate Justices of the Court. They are not well informed about the 15 SORE men who handle much of the de- tailed work of the Court. Of the Justices ou the Court. seven have two Taw clerks cach. Associate Justice William O. Doug- las has one law clerk. Chief Justice Earl Warren employs three Jaw clerks. That makes a total of 18. U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, July 12, 0957 r These young men are chosen by cach Justice from among graduates of leadhug law schools, usually upon recommenda- tion of the deans, They serve, as acrule, Tor one year. BM scir pay ranges from $5,500 to $6,500 a year and is drawn ‘from tax revenue. The clerks are Cov- ernment employes but, untike most other ’ Government workers, are nat subject to he US UL, 1am ify or lovalty Checks. tthe 18 law clerks mm the Supreme Court, T2 Thave been admitted to the bar, Ther average age is 27. Nine of wn cume from cities and towns in the East. Five come from the Middle West, three from West Coast States, -one from the South. - USNS&WE Photo WHERE LEGAL PRECEDENT IS ANNOUNCED ... the chamber of the Supreme Court Who are these 18 young men? What are their backgrounds? How are they chosen? Are they experienced Jawyers? These are some of the questions that arise 4 ‘when recent Court opinions are studied. Facts about these law clerks and the work they perform ore reported in this article. ’ arvard Law School, long the major source Ob haw clerRS for the ustICeEs, srovided six for the Court term just enid- Ing. Lore received their eal educa- tion at Yale Law School, and two at the law school of the Chivgtsity: sans. vania. Seven others are graduates of liw schools ranging from New York Univer- sity, in the East, to the University of Cal- ifornia at Los Angeles. Details on the backgrounds of these 18 young men are given beneath their photographs on these pages. Alumni of the brigade of Supreme Court law clerks include some names well known to the public. Among them are Dean Acheson, Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President Harry Truman, who served under Justice Louis Brandeis; James M. Landis, who held several important. posts in’ Democratic — Adininistratious: Francis Biddle, a former U.S. “Attomey General, and Alger Hiss, 2 penurer, It is in deciding whether or not to accept a case for argument and in preparing opinions in cases that are heard that the Justices look fot help from their young aides Meme oranda provided by the clerks. re- Ports su, semnetimes turn up in din portant decisions of the Court. This has raised the question of whether the clerks, in eflect, serve as “ghost writers” for the Justices. A firsthand account of how the law clerks are chosen and the duties they perform comes from former Justice Sherman Minton, who re- tired from the Court last year at the age of GA. The lis clerks “are selected in- dividually by each Justice from 45 ¥