Models and Methods Commons^™

‘For The Times They Are A Changin’: Explaining U.S. Supreme Court Justices’ Voting Through Identification Of Micro-Publics, Brian P. Levey, Jeffrey L. Yates, Justin Moeller

Brian P Levey

In assessing how social forces may shape U.S. Supreme Court justices’ decision making it has been presumed that there is one, singular public opinion and that it affects the individual justices in largely the same fashion. We suggest that it is more likely the case that justices’ world views are informed and shaped by a myriad of social concerns and group identities upon which these individuals structure and process their experiences and develop and refine their personal schemas. While some have already begun to question the proposition of a monolithic public opinion influence on judicial behavior and have begun to …