Justice O'Connor, who retired in 2006, also came to the Supreme Court from service on a state appeals court and so did not have an especially relevant judicial paper trail.
That lack of time on the bench may both help and hurt her confirmation prospects, allowing critics to question whether she is truly qualified while denying them a lengthy judicial paper trail filled with ammunition for attacks.
In a city like Laurel, with a population of 18,393, one's personality and faith are often more important than a judicial paper trail or an adherence to an agenda.
Ms. Kagan, considered by some Democrats as the most likely candidate, could be hard for Republicans to block given her lack of a judicial paper trail and her support from conservatives who appreciated her opening the doors to them when she was the dean of Harvard Law School.
Equally in Kagan's favor is the absence of a potentially compromising judicial paper trail.
The three leading candidates for Justice Stevens's seat served in the Clinton administration in Washington, and two of them have long judicial paper trails.
Outspoken, plucky and unashamedly feminist, Ginsburg was nothing like more recent judicial nominees with short paper trails and no discernible opinions – and still, she sailed through.
Though a military judicial record leaves less of a trail of opinions on hot button conservative issues, Ryan did clerk for the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas, an avowed conservative who is also prone to arguing that the court lacks jurisdiction.
While the government led on most proposals, it trailed on two key amendments, which would reform the top judicial oversight body and create a regulatory council to ensure "responsible" media coverage.
Instead, Rhode Island has chosen to blaze its own trail in regards to how its courts should address the role of judges as judicial gatekeepers.
