Anyone got advice on how to write alternate SCOTUS justices?

Ok so I've been thinking about a TL premise recently where, without getting too specific, a different POTUS gets elected. Basically, how do you write plausible Supreme Court court picks they might make? How do you research the views of lower level judges to find out what they believe (how do justices even get identified, picked, and vetted anyway; what's the research process)? Anybody got any tips?
 
Ok so I've been thinking about a TL premise recently where, without getting too specific, a different POTUS gets elected. Basically, how do you write plausible Supreme Court court picks they might make? How do you research the views of lower level judges to find out what they believe (how do justices even get identified, picked, and vetted anyway; what's the research process)? Anybody got any tips?
Have you an era in mind?

If you have a gore president after clinton I'd look at the Bill Clinton supreme court candidates wiki page to get a list of appointees clinton considered and assume they make the short list for gore.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton_Supreme_Court_candidates#Names_frequently_mentioned

Like with all things Wikipedia follow the references. Also if an alt president was previously a governor maybe take someone he appointed to the state supreme court.

Similar with most eras look at who a same party president of a similar era considered but didn't appoint. Research those individuals and pick one.
 
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Have you an era in mind?

If you have a gore president after clinton I'd look at the Bill Clinton supreme court candidates wiki page to get a list of appointees clinton considered and assume they make the short list for gore.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton_Supreme_Court_candidates#Names_frequently_mentioned

Like with all things Wikipedia follow the references. Also if an alt president was previously a governor maybe take someone he appointed to the state supreme court.

Similar with most eras look at who a same party president of a similar era considered but didn't appoint. Research those individuals and pick one.

As a jumping off point for further research into individual justices, you can also look at the circuit courts and which circuits typically skew liberal or conservative to find justices that line up with a President's ideology (for example, 9th circuit has a liberal reputation, 5th circuit has a conservative reputation) If you start with justices under 55 years old that have a decent amount of experience you can start to narrow down the lists. There's also always a short list of the Elena Kagan type appointments that don't have this experience, but have other relevant backgrounds. If there's a Senator hanging out in the years you're writing, like Amy Klobuchar now, with an extensive legal background, that person could be an Earl Warren type appointment too.
 
One I've suggested before.

Hughes wins in 1916 but loses to a Democrat in 1920, So CJ White's successor is appointed by a Dem. One possibility might be John W Davis, who OTL lived until 1955. If he died in office he would be the longest-serving CJ since John Marshall.
 
Have you an era in mind?

If you have a gore president after clinton I'd look at the Bill Clinton supreme court candidates wiki page to get a list of appointees clinton considered and assume they make the short list for gore.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton_Supreme_Court_candidates#Names_frequently_mentioned

Like with all things Wikipedia follow the references. Also if an alt president was previously a governor maybe take someone he appointed to the state supreme court.

Similar with most eras look at who a same party president of a similar era considered but didn't appoint. Research those individuals and pick one.

As a jumping off point for further research into individual justices, you can also look at the circuit courts and which circuits typically skew liberal or conservative to find justices that line up with a President's ideology (for example, 9th circuit has a liberal reputation, 5th circuit has a conservative reputation) If you start with justices under 55 years old that have a decent amount of experience you can start to narrow down the lists. There's also always a short list of the Elena Kagan type appointments that don't have this experience, but have other relevant backgrounds. If there's a Senator hanging out in the years you're writing, like Amy Klobuchar now, with an extensive legal background, that person could be an Earl Warren type appointment too.

One I've suggested before.

Hughes wins in 1916 but loses to a Democrat in 1920, So CJ White's successor is appointed by a Dem. One possibility might be John W Davis, who OTL lived until 1955. If he died in office he would be the longest-serving CJ since John Marshall.

Thanks for this advice, all. I did manage to find a hypothetical SCOTUS justice who met my criteria.
 
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