ENVIRONMENTAL AND STRUCTURAL VARIABLES AS DETERMINANTS OF ISSUES IN STATE COURTS OF LAST RESORT (FROM AMERICAN COURT SYSTEMS, 1978, BY SHELDON GOLDMAN AND AUSTIN SARAT - SEE NCJ-55128)

• NCJ Number: 55131
• Author(s): B M ATKINS; H M GLICK
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 12 pages
• Corporate Author: W H Freeman and Co
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: REPRINTED FROM AMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, V 20, N 1 (1976), P 97-114

Annotation

STATE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS FILED WITH FULL OPINIONS DURING 1966-1967 ARE EXAMINED IN A STUDY OF POLITICAL, SOCIOECONOMIC, PUBLIC POLICY, AND STRUCTURAL INFLUENCES ON ISSUES DECIDED BY SUPREME COURTS.

Abstract

THE 4,045 CASES ANALYZED ARE CATEGORIZED AS CRIMINAL, CIVIL LIBERTY, ECONOMIC REGULATION, PRIVATE ECONOMIC (E.G., CONTESTED WILLS), AND PRIVATE NONECONOMIC (E.G., MALPRACTICE SUITS). THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DISTRIBUTION OF THESE CASE TYPES IN A STATE SUPREME COURT'S DECISIONS AND THE STATE'S POLITICAL, SOCIOECONOMIC, AND PUBLIC POLICY CHARACTERISTICS IS EXPLORED THROUGH MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS. (PUBLIC POLICY MEASURES CONCERN THE POLICY ORIENTATION OF OTHER INSTITUTIONS IN THE STATE). THE ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATES THAT ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES ARE IMPORTANT PREDICTORS OF THE TYPES OF ISSUES RESOLVED THROUGH STATE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS. FOR EXAMPLE, SUPREME COURTS IN MORE RURAL, LESS POLITICALLY DIVERSIFIED STATES TEND TO DECIDE GREATER PROPORTIONS OF PRIVATE LITIGATION. BY CONTRAST, CIVIL LIBERTIES AND ECONOMIC REGULATION DECISIONS ARE MORE COMMON IN RELATIVELY AFFLUENT, ECONOMICALLY DEVELOPED, AND POLITICALLY PROFESSIONALIZED STATES. (POLITICAL PROFESSIONALIZATION IS MEASURED IN TERMS OF SALARIES OF JUDGES AND LEGISLATORS, LEGISLATIVE STAFF BUDGETS, AND LOCAL TAXES.) A COMPARISON BETWEEN STATES WITH AND WITHOUT INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURTS REVEALS THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS STRUCTURAL VARIABLE IN SHAPING THE DISTRIBUTION OF ISSUES THAT COME BEFORE THE STATE SUPREME COURTS. SUPREME COURTS IN STATES WITH INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURTS DECIDE RELATIVELY FEWER CIVIL LIBERTIES, GOVERNMENT REGULATION, AND PRIVATE CASES, BUT THEIR TOTAL CASELOADS ARE NOT NECESSARILY SMALLER AS A RESULT. THE PRESENCE OF AN INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT IS ASSOCIATED WITH SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES IN CRIMINAL DECISIONS BY THE SUPREME COURT, POSSIBLY BECAUSE THE JURISDICTIONS IN WHICH INTERMEDIATE COURTS ARE ESTABLISHED (SOCIOECONOMICALLY DEVELOPED, POLITICALLY DIVERSIFIED STATES) GENERATE CONSIDERABLE CRIMINAL LITIGATION. SUPPORTING DATA ARE INCLUDED. (LKM)