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Association: Name: Southern Political Science Association URL: http://www.spsa.net
Citation: URL: http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p67793_index.html Direct Link: HTML Code:

Collins, Paul. "Interest Group Participation and Judicial Decision Making: Examining the Influence of Amicus Curiae Participation in the U.S. Supreme Court" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, Inter-Continental Hotel, New Orleans, LA, Jan 08, 2004 <Not Available>. 2008-10-10 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p67793_index.html>

Collins, P. , 2004-01-08 "Interest Group Participation and Judicial Decision Making: Examining the Influence of Amicus Curiae Participation in the U.S. Supreme Court" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, Inter-Continental Hotel, New Orleans, LA Online <.PDF>. 2008-10-10 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p67793_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript Review Method: Peer Reviewed Abstract: Despite the fact that numerous studies examining the effectiveness of amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court exist, there is little consensus among judicial scholars regarding whether or not this method of interest group participation influences the decision making of the justices. This paper attempts to remedy this state of affairs by developing two competing theories as to why amicus briefs might influence the justices’ decision making. Building on intuitions from the attitudinal model and the cognitive response model developed in social psychology, I posit that amicus briefs are efficacious because they provide the justices with information that helps them locate their policy preferences. Accordingly, I argue that the presence of amicus briefs in a case enables the justices to better employ their policy preferences, thus allowing them to make their decisions more coherently based on their attitudes and values. In this sense, attitudes act as a mediating variable as to how the justices are expected to respond to amicus briefs. Building on intuitions from the legal model, I posit that amicus briefs are effective because they provide the justices with legal, political, and social scientific evidence that serves to buttress the arguments of the direct parties to litigation. As such, I argue that the presence of amicus briefs should influence the justices uniformly, regardless of their ideological predispositions. I subject these arguments to empirical validation by examining the votes of all justices during the 1946-1995 terms, with special attention given to civil rights and liberties law. The results indicate that ideology does not play a mediating role in regards to how the justices respond to the information contained in amicus filings. Rather, the influence of amicus briefs is best explained through the legal persuasion framework.

Liberal Justices, Conservative Cases? Explaining the Ideological Nature of the Supreme Court's Agenda

Interest Group Participation in Supreme Court Amicus Briefs, 1953-1993