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Institutional Legitimacy and Procedural Justice: Reexamining the Question of Causality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

Jeffery J. Mondak
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Abstract

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Tyler and Rasinski (1991) challenge Gibson's (1989) contention that perceptions of procedural justice do not influence citizens' compliance with unpopular Supreme Court rulings. Noting a significant correlation between procedural justice and institutional legitimacy, Tyler and Rasinski argue that perceptions of procedural justice exert indirect influence on compliance. In response, Gibson (1991) questions Tyler and Rasinski's interpretation of the causal relationship linking institutional legitimacy and perceptions of procedural justice. Although both sides in this dispute offer persuasive discussion, neither can advance conclusive empirical evidence regarding the question of causality. This note presents a reexamination of the relationship between institutional legitimacy and procedural justice, with data drawn from an experiment designed specifically to address the question of causality. Results do not enable conclusive assessment of the Gibson hypothesis. However, in contrast to the Tyler-Rasinski hypothesis, no evidence is found supporting the contention that perceptions of procedural justice influence perceptions of institutional legitimacy.

Type
Research Note
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , 1993 , pp. 599 - 608
Copyright
Copyright © 1993 by The Law and Society Association

Footnotes

Data reported here were collected for the author by the University Center for Social and Urban Research at the University of Pittsburgh. The assistance of Laurie Fowler in supervising data collection is gratefully acknowledged.

References

Gibson, James L. (1991) “Institutional Legitimacy, Procedural Justice, and Compliance with Supreme Court Decisions: A Question of Causality,” 25 Law & Society Rev. 631.Google Scholar
Marshall, Thomas R. (1987) “The Supreme Court as an Opinion Leader,” 15 American Politics Q. 147.Google Scholar
Marshall, Thomas R. (1989) Public Opinion and the Supreme Court. Boston: Unwin Hyman.Google Scholar
Mondak, Jeffery J. (1990) “Perceived Legitimacy of Supreme Court Decisions: Three Functions of Source Credibility,” 12 Political Behavior 363.Google Scholar
Mondak, Jeffery J. (1991) “Substantive and Procedural Aspects of Supreme Court Decisions as Determinants of Institutional Approval,” 19 American Politics Q. 174.Google Scholar
Mondak, Jeffery J. (1992) “Institutional Legitimacy, Policy Legitimacy, and the Supreme Court,” 20 American Politics Q. 457.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom R., & Rasinski, Kenneth (1991) “Procedural Justice, Institutional Legitimacy, and the Acceptance of Unpopular U.S. Supreme Court Decisions: A Reply to Gibson,” 25 Law & Society Rev. 621.Google Scholar