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The Supreme Court And Presidential Elections: An Analysis Of Divisive Decisions And Judicial Review In Presidential Elections, Jeff Hastings

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A presidential election is, arguably, the most important event in the American political system. The Congress and the president are undoubtedly affected by the pressures and publicity of these events, but we have little understanding of whether the Supreme Court behaves differently in presidential election years. In this paper, I argue that the Supreme Court will experience more consensus in its decisions and make less use of judicial review because of the potential for heightened public scrutiny that can arise during the term overlapping with a presidential election. I test this claim using ordinary least squares regression. I find that …

Executive Orders On A Political Timeline: Examination Of Executive Orders In The Supreme Court And Stephen Skowronek's Theory Of Presidential Leadership, Alisha Rachele Urrutia

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The research performed here applies a theoretical model of the presidency by Stephen Skowronek that spans all of American history to the number of executive orders issued per president and the number of these orders argued before the Supreme Court per president. I hypothesized that presidents who have the fewest political resources available to them (disjunctive presidents) would issue the most executive orders, and presidents who transform the face of American government and politics (reconstructionists) would face the most Supreme Court cases dealing with executive orders. I created two datasets for this research and used descriptive statistics to evaluate these …

Interest Groups And Supreme Court Commerce Clause Regulation, 1920-1937, Barrett L. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Did interest groups influence the Supreme Court’s interpretation of federal economic regulatory authority under the Commerce Clause leading up to the Supreme Court’s 1937 reversal? Recent scholarship has begun a renewed study of this tumultuous era seeking alternative explanations for the Court’s behavior beyond the conventional explanations concerning Roosevelt’s court packing plan. I build on this literature by extending the discussion to the influence that interest groups may have had on the Court. I propose that interest groups served as a supporting and influential audience for the Supreme Court as the justices’ institutional legitimacy became threatened by both the political …

The Role Of Law: How Law Shapes And Alters The Foundations Of Societies, Derek Robert Funk

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

When one considers the abundant number of nations, laws, and forms of government that have emerged throughout the history of civilization, it becomes apparent that although mankind shares common traits and attributes, societies often implement different principles as they strive to protect their interests and achieve their goals. As the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau remarked, “besides the principles that are common to all, every nation has in itself something that gives them a particular application, and makes its legislation peculiarly its own.”1 Because every society faces a unique set of challenges, every society must solve its particular dilemmas in a unique …

An Analysis Of Sources In Journalism On The Supreme Court, Dione Garlick

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The United States Supreme Court bUilding is intimidating, to say the least. The massive structure rises four stories above the ground and the three million dollars worth of white marble shines starkly against the blue sky.l The inscription "EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW" runs horizontally across the top of the impressive structure. This beautiful bUilding is part of the imagery associated with the Supreme Court. Along with black robes and gavels, the Supreme Court has carefully crafted the images that are connected with the justices and the Court.

Unlike the leaders ofthe legislative and executive branches, the justices of the Supreme …