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Selection of Cases for Discussion

The US Supreme Court, October Term 1939, 1968, and 1982

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2022

Gregory A. Caldeira  and
Daniel Lempert
Gregory A. Caldeira*
Affiliation:
Ohio State University
Daniel Lempert
Affiliation:
SUNY Potsdam
*
Contact the corresponding author, Gregory A. Caldeira, at [email protected].
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Abstract

The first, hidden stage of the Supreme Court’s agenda-setting process is the formation of the “discuss list,” the small set of cases actually considered in conference. Yet few have systematically considered the operation of and the influences on this critical initial phase of decision making. No systematic, empirical work makes comparisons over time of how features of cases shape the makeup of the chief justice’s discuss list. Here, we examine the composition of the discuss list through a multivariate analysis of all paid petitions for certiorari filed in October Term 1939, 1968, and 1982. We are thereby able to compare the tendencies and efficacy of three long-serving chief justices—Hughes, Warren, and Burger—in making up the discuss list. And, methodologically, we present an alternative to the “observed-value” and the “representative-case” methods of calculating effect sizes for second differences, with software to implement our proposal.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Law and Courts , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , Fall 2020 , pp. 381 - 395
Copyright
© 2020 by the Law and Courts Organized Section of the American Political Science Association. All rights reserved.

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Footnotes

We appreciate helpful discussions with Larry Baum, Jeff Budziak, Rob Hinckley, Matt Hitt, Kyle Kopko, and Steven Nawara and useful comments from Kevin McGuire and two anonymous reviewers. A version of this article was presented at the 2018 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, where Doug Rice and other panelists and audience members provided valuable feedback. We thank Audra J. Smith for excellent research assistance. For use of data for OT 1968 and OT 1982, we thank John Wright and Christopher Zorn.

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