Law Commons^™

For The Times They Are A-Changin': Explaining Voting Patters Of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Through Identification Of Micro-Publics, Jeff Yates, Justin Moeller, Brian Levey

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

In assessing how social forces may shape U.S. Supreme Court Justices’ decision-making it has been presumed that there is a singular public opinion and that this opinion affects each individual Justice 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 the Justices 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 …