Bull-tweed. What do you think they have clerks and research staff and librarians for? Supreme Court judges have their staffs prepare briefs and outlines and do the research for them. They eventually read some or most of this, but it would be absurd to think every judge knows every decision the Court (and all the circuit courts as well) have ever made. You think 85 year-old demented John Stevens knows every decision ever made? He can hardly find his way to his potty chair.
You naively fail to comprehend that someone who doesn't know her stuff will fall in with the prevailing mindset of those around her, be overwhelmed by them, and end up seeking their approval as the Times hails her "growth". Didn't Sandra Day O'Connor end up singing hosannas to "international law" ?
Of course bosses have staffs to do their research. But if they don't know the business they end up doing whatever their staff has agreed on among themselves. You should try to get out more.