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Insights from the Field

Beyond Numbers: How Interest Group Influence Shapes US Supreme Court Decisions


Interest group power
U.S. Supreme Court
judicial ideology
Law Courts Justice
APSR
1 Stata files
1 datasets
Dataverse
Quality over Quantity: Amici Influence and Judicial Decision Making was authored by Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, Dino P. Christenson and Matthew P. Hitt. It was published by Cambridge in APSR in 2013.

The study challenges the idea that quantity alone matters in judicial decision-making.

➡️ Amicus Curiae Focus

It examines how interest groups, through amicus briefs, influence Supreme Court rulings.

➡️ Network Position Matters

Using network analysis from 1946-2001, researchers demonstrate that a group's perceived power is crucial when both sides have similar support levels.

➡️ Ideology Plays Key Role

Justices' own political leanings moderate the impact of liberal interest groups' influence.

The findings suggest that while amicus briefs are just one factor, their effectiveness hinges on context and judicial perspective.

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