Majority Rule or Minority Will: Adherence to Precedent on the U.S. Supreme Court

by Harold J. Spaeth , Jeffrey A. Segal

• ISBN13: 9780521805711
• ISBN10: 0521805716
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-02-19
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book examines the influence of precedent on the behavior of US Supreme Court justices throughout the Court's history. Under the assumption that for precedent to be an influence on the behavior of justices it must lead to a result they would not otherwise have reached, the results show that when justices disagree with the establishment of a precedent, they rarely shift from their previously stated views in subsequent cases. In other words, they are hardly ever influenced by precedent. Nevertheless, the doctrine of stare decisis does exhibit some low level influence on the justices in the least salient of the Court's decisions. The book examines these findings in light of several leading theories of judicial decision making.

Author Biography

Harold J. Spaeth is Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University Jeffrey A. Segal is Professor of Political Science at SUNY Stony Brook

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures	xi
Preface	xv
Precedent and the Court	1	(22)
Introduction: The Case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey	1	(4)
Measuring the Influence of Precedent	5	(3)
Precedential and Preferential Models	8	(13)
Precedentialists	8	(4)
Legal Moderates	12	(3)
Preferential Models	15	(6)
Theoretical Expectations	21	(2)
Measuring Precedential Behavior	23	(22)
Sampling Precedents	23	(2)
Major Decisions	24	(1)
Minor Decisions	24	(1)
Identification of Progeny	25	(8)
LEXIS and Shepard's Citations	27	(2)
Progeny as Precedents	29	(1)
Issue Identity	29	(1)
Miscellaneous Criteria	30	(3)
Evaluating Progeny	33	(11)
Levels of Precedential/Preferential Behavior	35	(5)
Alternative Approaches	40	(4)
Conclusion	44	(1)
Precedential Behavior from the Beginning Through the Chase Court	45	(32)
Beginnings through the Marshall Court	45	(10)
The Justices' Behavior	55	(1)
The Taney Court	55	(13)
The Justices' Behavior	67	(1)
The Chase Court	68	(9)
The Justices' Behavior	75	(2)
Precedential Behavior Bridging the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries	77	(48)
The Waite Court	77	(9)
The Fuller Court	86	(20)
The Justices' Behavior	93	(1)
Fuller Court Ordinary Litigation	93	(8)
The Justices' Behavior	101	(5)
The White Court	106	(5)
The Justices' Behavior	107	(3)
The White Court Common Case Sample	110	(1)
The Justices' Behavior	111	(1)
The Taft Court	111	(12)
The Justices' Behavior	116	(7)
Conclusion	123	(2)
Precedential Behavior in the Hughes, Stone, and Vinson Courts	125	(38)
The Hughes Court	125	(13)
Landmarks	128	(1)
The Justices' Behavior	129	(5)
Ordinary Cases	134	(1)
The Justices' Behavior	135	(3)
The Stone Court	138	(8)
Landmarks	139	(3)
The Justices' Behavior	142	(1)
Ordinary Litigation	142	(4)
The Justices' Behavior	146	(1)
The Vinson Court	146	(14)
Landmarks	150	(3)
The Justices' Behavior	153	(4)
Common Cases	157	(3)
The Justices' Behavior	160	(1)
Conclusion	160	(3)
Precedential Behavior in the Warren Court	163	(45)
The First Amendment	166	(1)
Civil Rights	167	(4)
Reapportionment	171	(4)
Internal Security	175	(9)
Criminal Procedure	184	(9)
Miranda v. Arizona	184	(2)
Search and Seizure	186	(1)
Self-Incrimination	187	(2)
Double Jeopardy	189	(1)
Jury Trial	190	(1)
Miscellaneous Criminal Procedure	191	(2)
The Justices' Votes	193	(1)
Miscellaneous Warren Court Precedents	193	(6)
Conclusion	199	(4)
Common Cases	203	(5)
The Justices' Behavior	207	(1)
Precedential Behavior in the Burger Court	208	(64)
Abortion	211	(1)
Criminal Procedure	211	(10)
Search and Seizure	211	(3)
Self-Incrimination	214	(1)
Jury Trial	215	(1)
Juveniles	215	(5)
Miscellaneous Criminal Procedure	220	(1)
The Justices' Votes	221	(1)
The Death Penalty	221	(7)
The Justices' Votes	228	(1)
Federalism	228	(3)
The Justices' Votes	231	(1)
Civil Rights	231	(15)
School Segregation	231	(4)
Affirmative Action	235	(1)
Sex Discrimination	236	(1)
Reapportionment and Voting	237	(1)
Miscellaneous Civil Rights	238	(1)
Conclusion	239	(1)
The Justices' Votes	239	(7)
First Amendment	246	(4)
Religion	246	(1)
Campaign Spending	247	(2)
Miscellaneous First Amendment Landmarks	249	(1)
Conclusion	250	(1)
The Justices' Votes	250	(1)
Governmental Immunity	250	(8)
Separation of Powers	258	(1)
Conclusion	259	(1)
Common Litigation	260	(12)
The Justices' Behavior	271	(1)
Precedential Behavior in the Rehnquist Court	272	(15)
Landmark Decisions	274	(3)
Conclusion	277	(1)
Common Litigation	278	(9)
The Justices' Behavior	285	(2)
The Supreme Court and Stare Decisis	287	(29)
Data Description and Summary	287	(14)
Precedent over Time	289	(1)
The Justices' Behavior	290	(11)
Testing Alternative Explanations	301	(6)
Establishing a Baseline	302	(1)
Changing Preferences	303	(1)
Separation of Powers	304	(3)
Toward an Explanation of Precedential Behavior	307	(7)
Salience	308	(4)
Docket Control	312	(1)
Decline of Consensual Norms	313	(1)
Conclusions	314	(2)
References	316	(7)
Table of Cases	323	(26)
Index	349