Justices Become More Liberal As They Age

Supreme Court Justices grow more liberal over time, a report at FiveThirtyEight claims, using Martin-Quinn store data to show a leftward-leaning pattern. The trend is consistent, even with the nine current justices, showing Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and Chief Justice John Roberts have all drifted toward center. Justice Anthony Kennedy last term shifted solidly into the liberal spectrum. Some of the theories put forth to explain this phenomenon involve pressure from New York Times reporters, the urge to fit in better at cocktail parties, and the urge to shape how history will remember them. There is also some sociological research to suggest that people get more liberal as they age, FiveThirtyEight reports.