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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Supreme Court Responsiveness: An Analysis Of Individual Justice Voting Behavior And The Role Of Public Opinion, Michael Browning
Supreme Court Responsiveness: An Analysis Of Individual Justice Voting Behavior And The Role Of Public Opinion, Michael Browning
Honors Projects
This study aims to explain why the Supreme Court responds to public mood by analyzing individual justice liberalism and comparing it to public liberalism between the years of 1953 and 2005. Three theories suggesting why the Court may respond to public opinion are discussed, including the replacement, political adjustment, and the attitude change hypotheses. The argument of using Court reversals to determine the ideology of the Court is presented and implemented. Public reaction to Court decisions is analyzed along with the Court’s institutional legitimacy as means to determine the Court’s strategic behavior. Ideology, public mood, the parties controlling the House, …