Law Commons^™

Judicial Hostility Toward Labor Unions--Applying The Social Background Model To A Celebrated Concern , James J. Brudney, Sara Schiavoni, Deborah J. Merritt

Faculty Scholarship

Brudney, Schiavoni, and Merritt address an important debate dividing lawyers And political scientists: To what extent do extra doctrinal factors such as political party, gender, and professional experience influence judicial decision making? They analyze an area of law, decisions interpreting the National Labor Relations Act, that has long been characterized by assertions of Judicial bias. By including every federal court of appeals decision applying the Act over a seven year period, and controlling for both deference to the administrative agency and differences among issues arising under the Act, the authors are able to identify previously undetected influences on judicial decision …