Decision Making in the Supreme Court
The most important thing to understand about the Supreme Court is why the Court reaches the decisions that it hands down. In understanding this you must first be aware of several factors. These factors include the role of the law in decision making, how justices' values effect their voting, how group interaction affects the court's final decision, the affect of external influences, and the role of ideology. First of all, there are four models constructed by political scientists to explain the court's decision-making. These four models are the legal model, the attitudinal model, the collegial game model, and the strategic model. The legal model postulates that "the decisions of the Court are based on the facts of the case in light of the plain meaning of statutes and the Constitution, the intent of framers, the precedent, and a balancing of societal interests" (Segal and Spaeth 1993, 32). The attitudinal model "holds that the Supreme Court decides disputes in light of the facts of the cases vis-a-vie the ideological attitudes and values of the justices" (Segal and Spaeth 1993, 65). The collegial game model contends that "justices will try to secure opinions that are as close as possible to their policy positions by bas
An even stronger incentive is the justices' interest in legal rules (Baum 2004, 138). The President is influential because he has the power to appoint justices which gives him the ability to determine the Court's direction (Baum 2004, 150). After accepting a case, the justices may be influenced by interest groups on the basis of merit (Baum 2004, 149). Many cases address issues that are important to a large share of the public and justices know that their decision will not only be highly watched and scrutinized but will have a huge impact on society. They are also impacted by law reviews (Baum 2004, 149). Second they may act in a strategic manner by adjusting their position to achieve the best results (Baum 2004, 125). Most justices interact with lawyers, professors, and lower court judges (Baum 2004, 149). Another reality is that justices have more than the law on their minds. He also appoints the solicitor general and intervenes in specific cases (Baum 2004, 150. Some of these techniques include texualism, originalism, stare decisis, balancing of interest, and structuralism. They hold strong policy preferences about the issues involved in their cases. We do know that law exerts influence and influence is very powerful ( Baum 2004, 123). Legal ambiguity allows justices to provide justification for decisions (Baum 2004, 119). Simply by bringing cases to the Supreme Court, litigants and interest groups affect the Court's policies (Baum 2004, 149). The court chooses to hear cases that almost always involve situations in which proper interpretation of the Constitution is uncertain (Baum 2004, 119).
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Acceptance Essays
