Curbing the Court

Why the Public Constrains Judicial Independence
Erscheinungsjahr 2020
ISBN: 978-1-316-63850-7
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 318 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 225 mm, Gewicht: 454 g

What motivates political actors with diverging interests to respect the Supreme Court's authority? A popular answer is that the public serves as the guardian of judicial independence by punishing elected officials who undermine the justices. Curbing the Court challenges this claim, presenting a new theory of how we perceive the Supreme Court. Bartels and Johnston argue that, contrary to conventional wisdom, citizens are not principled defenders of the judiciary. Instead, they seek to limit the Court's power when it suits their political aims, and this inclination is heightened during times of sharp partisan polarization. Backed by a wealth of observational and experimental data, Bartels and Johnston push the conceptual, theoretical, and empirical boundaries of the study of public opinion of the courts. By connecting citizens to the strategic behavior of elites, this book offers fresh insights into the vulnerability of judicial institutions in an increasingly contentious era of American politics.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bartels, Brandon L

Johnston, Christopher D

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Allgemeines Verfahrens-, Zivilprozess- und Insolvenzrecht Allgemeines Prozessrecht, Kostenrecht
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Öffentliche Meinung und Umfragen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. The guardians of judicial independence; 2. Theories of public support for court-curbing; 3. A deep dive into Supreme Court evaluation and support; 4. General policy disagreement and broadly targeted court-curbing; 5. Specific policy disagreement and support for court-curbing; 6. Partisan polarization and support for court-curbing; 7. Procedural perceptions and motivated reasoning; 8. Reconsidering the public foundations of judicial independence.

Über Autor(innen)

Bartels, Brandon L
Brandon L. Bartels is Associate Professor of Political Science at George Washington University and co-editor of Making Law and Courts Research Relevant, published by Routledge. His research has appeared in journals such as the American Political Science Review and American Journal of Political Science.

Johnston, Christopher D
Christopher D. Johnston is Associate Professor of Political Science at Duke University. He is co-author of The Ambivalent Partisan, published by Oxford University Press, and Open Versus Closed: Personality, Identity, and the Politics of Redistribution, published by Cambridge University Press, both of which won the David O. Sears award.