---
title: ""There’s no completely objective way to measure legal ability, but a…"
date: 2020-10-28
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships shared a link.
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# "There’s no completely objective way to measure legal ability, but a…

*October 28, 2020 · Facebook*

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[https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/12/9/20962980/trump-supreme-court-federal-judges](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/12/9/20962980/trump-supreme-court-federal-judges){target="_blank"}
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\"There's no completely objective way to measure legal ability, but a common metric used by legal employers to identify the most gifted lawyers is whether those lawyers secured a federal clerkship, including the most prestigious clerkships at the Supreme Court.\
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Approximately 40 percent of Trump's appellate nominees clerked for a Supreme Court justice, and about 80 percent clerked on a federal court of appeals. That compares to less than a quarter of\
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Obama's nominees who clerked on the Supreme Court, and less than half with a federal appellate clerkship.\
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In other words, based solely on objective legal credentials, the average Trump appointee has a far more impressive résumé than any past president's nominees.\"
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