As recently as two years ago, there was a very clear playbook for federal appeals court judges who hoped to someday sit on the Supreme Court. Keep your head down. Build prestige in the subtle ways judges gain status within the elite ranks of the legal profession. And whatever you do, don’t take positions on issues that inflame political debate about the Supreme Court.
There’s at least one exception to this rule. Justice Samuel Alito had a very clear anti-abortion record ...