Supreme Court scholars often debate the role of lawyers in Supreme Court decision making. For an attitudinalist, the justices’ preferences make all (or at least most of) the difference. According to this theory justices will often vote based on their preferred policy direction, which minimizes the role of advocacy. More recent studies show that such…
Tag: John Bursch
When Opposites Attract Ideology Falls to the Wayside
Lots of noise is made about partisan and ideological divides on the Supreme Court. There tends to be less hubbub surrounding instances when justices that traditionally divide ideologically, vote together. Such surprising coalitions formed in the majority and dissent for the Court’s decision in last week’s Patchak v. Zinke ruling. Although this decision was met with only…
Comparing Candidates for the Next United States Solicitor General
Eleven possibilities for the next Solicitor General of the United States. There are in fact many more possible candidates although the eleven names produced in two articles – one by Tony Mauro of the National Law Journal and another by David Lat, managing editor of Above the Law provide an ample source of talented lawyers…
The Lucky Ones: Cert Grants 2016
Sixteen. That is the number of cases that the Supreme Court is currently slated to hear in the 2016 Term. This number in itself is exceptionally low for this time of year, although in terms of absolute case grants it is not exponentially far behind years past (see below). For those who follow the Supreme…
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