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Full-Text Articles in Law

A Winner’S Curse?: Promotions From The Lower Federal Courts, Stephen J. Choi, Mitu Gulati, Eric A. Posner Jan 2014

A Winner’S Curse?: Promotions From The Lower Federal Courts, Stephen J. Choi, Mitu Gulati, Eric A. Posner

Faculty Scholarship

The standard model of judicial behavior suggests that judges primarily care about deciding cases in ways that further their political ideologies. But judicial behavior seems much more complex. Politicians who nominate people for judgeships do not typically tout their ideology (except sometimes using vague code words), but they always claim that the nominees will be competent judges. Moreover, it stands to reason that voters would support politicians who appoint competent as well as ideologically compatible judges. We test this hypothesis using a dataset consisting of promotions to the federal circuit courts. We find, using a set of objective measures of …


Standing The Test Of Time: The Breadth Of Majority Coalitions And The Fate Of U.S. Supreme Court Precedents, Stuart M. Benjamin, Bruce A. Desmarais Jan 2012

Standing The Test Of Time: The Breadth Of Majority Coalitions And The Fate Of U.S. Supreme Court Precedents, Stuart M. Benjamin, Bruce A. Desmarais

Faculty Scholarship

Should a strategic Justice assemble a broader coalition for the majority opinion than is necessary, even if that means accommodating changes that move the opinion away from the author’s ideal holding? If the author’s objective is to durably move the law to his or her ideal holding, the conventional answer is no, because there is a cost and no corresponding benefit. We consider whether attracting a broad majority coalition can placate future courts. Controlling for the size of the coalition, we find that cases with ideologically narrow coalitions are more likely to be treated negatively by later courts. Specifically, adding …


All Rise! Standing In Judge Betty Fletcher’S Court, Thomas D. Rowe Jr. Jan 2010

All Rise! Standing In Judge Betty Fletcher’S Court, Thomas D. Rowe Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

In this essay, based on a talk given at the Washington Law Review’s March 2009 symposium in honor of Senior Ninth Circuit Judge Betty Binns Fletcher and her three decades of service on that court, I selectively survey her opinions on justiciability issues: standing, ripeness, mootness, and political questions. A significant starting point for this survey is Professor Richard Pierce’s 1999 law review article, Is Standing Law or Politics?, arguing that many Supreme Court votes in standing cases generally, and appellate judges’ votes in environmental-standing cases specifically, can be explained better on the basis of politics than by reference to …


Future Generations: A Prioritarian View, Matthew D. Adler Jan 2009

Future Generations: A Prioritarian View, Matthew D. Adler

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Constructing The Co-Ed Military, Elaine Donnelly May 2007

Constructing The Co-Ed Military, Elaine Donnelly

Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy

During a pre-launch test of the Apollo One spacecraft,1 an electrical spark ignited the pure-oxygen atmosphere inside the cramped capsule, killing astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chafee.2 Critics demanded to know why the mechanical and electrical engineers of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) failed to recognize the inherent dangers of operating in a pure-oxygen environment. To ensure that the intent of Congress is carried out with regard to homosexuals in the military, the Secretary of Defense should: * Improve understanding and enforcement of the law by eliminating the Clinton Administration's enforcement regulations, known as "Don't Ask, …


Warning: Labeling Constitutions May Be Hazardous To Your Regime, Suzanna Sherry Jul 2004

Warning: Labeling Constitutions May Be Hazardous To Your Regime, Suzanna Sherry

Law and Contemporary Problems

Sherry presents information concerning the labeling of court decisions as being liberal or conservative victories. Because each case can be viewed in different aspects of liberalism and conservatism, it is more appropriate to simply recognize that there are important, non-ideological values at stake on both sides of each case.