The first generation of constitutional courts often plays a heroic role in constitutional construction, in part because there is much work to be done and in part because political reasons often lead to staffing these courts with extraordinarily talented individuals. Succeeding courts are often less distinguished, in part because there is less important work to be done, and in part because the first generation courts may have taken actions against the nation’s political leadership that generates a backlash against the courts. Sometimes that backlash leads to the deliberate selection of less talented judges for positions on the constitutional courts. In addition to backlash, successor courts may simply illustrate regression to the mean – the replacement of extraordinary judges with ordinary ones, simply because that is what one would predict about any selection process. These considerations suggest the importance of thinking about “judicial time,” the pace at which courts change, in relation to political time, the pace at which governing political coalitions change.