They say that journalists write the first draft of history. But it’s more literally true that the first draft of legal opinion is often the work of law clerks. Some judges rely on clerks more heavily than others, but the short-term, post-law school job usually at least involves preparing bench memos, proofreading, researching case law, and other tasks of varying complexity.

But who exactly are law clerks?

The question was posed by a team of political and legal researchers at four top universities. Specifically they looked at the political ideologies of federal law clerks at the district, circuit and Supreme Court levels. Their broader aim with the study, a draft of which they posted online this week. isn’t so much to shed light on these ambitious, legal aides-de-camp. The clerks, the authors say, are a lens through which to better understand the political leanings of their bosses: the actual people behind the bench handing down rulings.

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Among the findings: It may not seem all that surprising that judges appointed by Democratic presidents hire mostly clerks who are left-of-center. Indeed, according to the authors, 85% of those clerks lean liberal. What’s more eye-opening is that around two-thirds of clerks hired by Republican-appointees are left-of-center.

Read more at The Wall Street Journal