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Reevaluating the Implications of Decision-Making Models

The Role of Summary Decisions in US Supreme Court Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2022

Ali S. Masood  and
Donald R. Songer
Ali S. Masood*
Affiliation:
University of South Carolina
Donald R. Songer
Affiliation:
University of South Carolina
*
Contact the corresponding author, Ali Shiraz Masood, at [email protected].
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Abstract

Most empirical analyses of the US Supreme Court are limited to the Court’s plenary decisions. We contend that summary decisions are an important component of the total decisional output of the Court and, as such, should be included in any overall assessment of the decision making of the Court or its impact on the courts below. We analyze the universe of the Court’s summary decisions from 1995 to 2005. We assess the conventional wisdom that a conservative Court should primarily disturb liberal lower-court decisions and that, in all cases granted certiorari, the policy preferences of the justices should have a major impact on their votes. We find support for neither of these expectations.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Law and Courts , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , Fall 2013 , pp. 363 - 389
Copyright
© 2013 by the Law and Courts Organized Section of the American Political Science Association. All rights reserved.

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