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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 May 2020
During the past decade political scientists have become increasingly aware that state supreme courts make major contributions to public policy. Various highly publicized decisions concerning, for example, school finance, the termination of life support systems, and plea bargaining have underlined the importance of state supreme court policymaking. Historical studies have documented that this policy involvement is not merely a recent phenomenon. However, the Burger Court's new federalism has invited state supreme courts to play a more active role, and many courts have availed themselves of this opportunity.
Yet despite the obvious importance of state supreme court activity, research on their policymaking has lagged. In part this can be attributed to the sheer volume of cases they annually decide. Numerous law journals assist the political scientist in overcoming this difficulty by publishing annual surveys of state supreme court decisions. Listed below are journals which provide such surveys.
1 Serrano v. Priest I and II, 487 p. 2d 1241; 557 p. 2d 929 (cal. 1971 and 1976); Robinson v.Cahill I and II, 303 A. 2d 273; 339 A. 2d 193 (N.J. 1973 and 1975); In Re Quintan, 355 A. 2d 647 (N.J. 1976); and State v. Buckalew, 561 p. 2d 289 (alas. 1977).
2 Kagan, RobertCartwright, BlissFriedman, Lawrence and Wheeler, Stanton, “The Business of State Supreme Courts,” Stanford Law Review 30 (November 1977).Google Scholar
3 See, inter alia, Howard, A.E. Dick, “State Courts and Constitutional Rights in the Day of the Burger Court,” Virginia Law Review 62 (June 1976)CrossRefGoogle Scholar, and Mary Cornelia Porter, “State Supreme Courts and the Legacy of the Warren Court: Some Old Inquiries for a New Situation,” Publius 8 (Fall 1978).