The End of Super-Precedents

Supreme Courts have a unique feature in the American system: they get to define the precedent that other courts must follow. Therefore, contrary to what you might hear in certain corners of social imagination, Supreme courts are NOT the precedent-following institutions; the lower courts are. But in terms of jurisprudence, this can get a little […]

Terry v. US (2021): Good Example of How Law Matters in Judicial Politics

Judicial politics scholars have long been engaged in what at times is a poor conversation about whether and how law matters in SCOTUS. On Monday the Court gave us a ruling that was ripe with political saliency and content that can easily be seen with sharp attitudes. And yet, they were unanimous not in an […]

New Module on the Constrained Supreme Court

These lectures provide a proper theoretical clarity for what “attitudinal theory” is on the Supreme Court, and what anecdotal evidence might support it. They also provide a well organized account of the competitor theory, called “institutionalism.” This module is therefore about competing theories of judicial choice. Students learn not only how the idea of a […]