Professor Perry Dane · July 2020
88 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. Arguendo 54
2019 was the putative hundredth anniversary of the formal institution of Supreme Court law clerks. It is understandable at this milestone to focus on biography, history, and warm personal reminiscences. As a former clerk to Justice William J. Brennan Jr., memories of my time with him remain sharply etched and deeply meaningful.
My concern in this Essay is more abstract, however. My aim is to use the simple fact that law clerks (not just Supreme Court law clerks) often draft opinions as a lens through which to reflect on several jurisprudential issues, including the institutional structures of each of the three branches of our government, the nature of the judicial function, and the interpretation of judicial and other legal texts. Along the way, I also propose some tentative conclusions about the legitimacy and hermeneutical relevance of the law clerk’s role. But I am ultimately more interested in exploring the terrain than in offering definitive prescriptions.
Professor Dane’s Essay was written for the Clerks at 100 Symposium, hosted by the National Constitution Center and The George Washington Law Review on October 4, 2019.
