Lawyers' Perceptions of the U.S. Supreme Court: Is the Court a "Political" Institution?
Do legal elites-lawyers admitted to federal appellate bars-perceive the Supreme Court as a "political" institution? Legal elites differentiate themselves from the mass public in the amount and sources of information about the Court. They also hold near-universal perceptions of Court legitimacy, a result we use to derive competing theoretical expectations regarding the impact of ideological disagreement on various Court perceptions. Survey data show that many legal elites perceive the Court as political in its decision making, while a minority perceive the Court as activist and influenced by external political forces. Ideological disagreement with the Court's outputs significantly elevates political perceptions of decision making, while it exhibits a null and moderate impact on perceptions of activism and external political influence, respectively. To justify negative affect derived from ideological disagreement, elites highlight the political aspects of the Court's decision making rather than engage in "global delegitimization" of the institution itself.
Duke Scholars
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- Criminology
- 4804 Law in context
- 4410 Sociology
- 4402 Criminology
- 1801 Law
- 1608 Sociology
- 1602 Criminology
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Criminology
- 4804 Law in context
- 4410 Sociology
- 4402 Criminology
- 1801 Law
- 1608 Sociology
- 1602 Criminology