The Supreme Court’s philosophical lineup is reviewed in a nice summary from USAToday, for those who are not already hard core Court watchers

Supreme Court watchers already know a great deal about the personalities and philosophies of the Justices. But the general public is generally unaware of who these powerful individuals on the Court are, and what to expect from them. We know of a few of the media star justices who might be talked about on radio on TV.

The Court’s intellectual and philosophical dynamic is complex and fascinating, and well worth the time it takes to learn more about it.

USAToday has written a nice overview of the key justices and their competing philosophies, and speculated about the intellectual dramas that will be unfolding in the near future.

LINK: Five justices to watch as the Roberts court evolves - USAToday

The death of former chief justice William Rehnquist and the retirement of former justice Sandra Day O’Connor make the current term the first in 34 years in which the Supreme Court gained two new members in a single term. But the changes are more momentous than in 1972, when Rehnquist and Lewis Powell joined the court, for two reasons: They involve the important post of chief justice and the replacement of O’Connor, the court’s most influential member.

For more than a decade, the moderate O’Connor was able to steer decisions, sometimes toward the court’s more liberal members — John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer — and sometimes toward its conservatives: Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Justice Anthony Kennedy often was in the middle with O’Connor, but more to the conservative side.

President Bush cited the conservative credentials of new Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito when he appointed them, but it isn’t clear how they will affect the nation’s law. As Roberts and Alito begin to define their roles, other justices are redefining theirs. Five to watch:

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