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On the Role of Ideological Homogeneity in Generating Consequential Constitutional Decisions

Year: 2008

Type: article

Abstract: Assuming that Supreme Court justices in the majority can transform any constitutional dispute into a ruling with major (or minor) legal implications, what explains their choice? Several possibilities present themselves. But here we focus chiefly on the effect of ideological diversity on the nature of the decision the Justices render, and argue that the more homogeneous the majority, the higher the likelihood of a consequential decision. An analysis of Supreme Court decisions addressing state or federal constitutional matters (1953-2005 terms) lends support to our claim: Regardless of the size of the majority, a strong and positive association exists between ideological homogeneity and the production of a noteworthy decision.

Source: Penn Carey Law Legal Scholarship Repository (University of Pennsylvania)

Authors: Nancy Staudt, Barry Friedman, Lee Epstein

Institutions: Northwestern University, Washington University in St. Louis, New York University

Language: English

Topic: Judicial and Constitutional Studies

Subfield: Law

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W3124043532

FWCI: 47.1

Cites:

Cited by: 49

Related to: 10