Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Preface
- 1 Neither Force, Nor Will
- 2 When Courts Command
- 3 Judging the Court
- 4 Popular Vertical Issues
- 5 Unpopular Vertical Issues
- 6 Popular Lateral Issues
- 7 Unpopular Lateral Issues
- 8 Neither the Sword nor the Purse, but the Keys
- Appendix I Case Selection
- Appendix II Survey Information and Citations
- Appendix III Supporting Data for Figures
- Appendix IV Statistical Analysis on the Effects of the Pico Ruling
- Appendix V Behavior Conformity Calculations
- Appendix VI Statistical Analysis of Behavior Conformity
- Appendix VII The Effects of Unanimity on Behavior Conformity
- Case References
- References
- Index
3 - Judging the Court
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 December 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Preface
- 1 Neither Force, Nor Will
- 2 When Courts Command
- 3 Judging the Court
- 4 Popular Vertical Issues
- 5 Unpopular Vertical Issues
- 6 Popular Lateral Issues
- 7 Unpopular Lateral Issues
- 8 Neither the Sword nor the Purse, but the Keys
- Appendix I Case Selection
- Appendix II Survey Information and Citations
- Appendix III Supporting Data for Figures
- Appendix IV Statistical Analysis on the Effects of the Pico Ruling
- Appendix V Behavior Conformity Calculations
- Appendix VI Statistical Analysis of Behavior Conformity
- Appendix VII The Effects of Unanimity on Behavior Conformity
- Case References
- References
- Index
Summary
Does anybody know … where we can go to find light on what the practical consequences of these decisions have been? … I don't know to what extent these things can be ascertained. I do know that, to the extent that they may be relevant in deciding cases, they ought not to be left to the blind guessing of myself and others only a little less informed than I am.
Justice Felix FrankfurterIn this chapter, I develop methodologies for evaluating Supreme Court power. First, I consider the complicated issue of strategic Court action and problems it poses for my examination of Court power. Second, I identify principles that will guide my case selection process in order to make reliable causal inferences about the relationship between Court rulings and outcomes. Next, I borrow methodology developed by David Mayhew in order to identify “important” Supreme Court rulings, which will be a critical component of my case selection process. Then, I explain how I will measure the dependent variable (behavior outcomes) and independent variables (the institutional context of the issue and political opposition to the Court's rulings). Finally, I present a summary of the hypothesis I will test regarding Supreme Court power.
THE PROBLEM OF STRATEGIC COURT ACTION
To this point, I have defined judicial power as an actual or potential causal relation between the preferences of a judge or judges regarding the outcome of a court ruling and the outcome itself.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Nature of Supreme Court Power , pp. 19 - 27Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010