NCJ Number
53015
Date Published
1978
Length
612 pages
Annotation
THE JUDGES OF LOWER COURTS WERE QUERIED REGARDING THEIR BACKGROUNDS, RECRUITMENT, SOCIALIZATION, AND POLITICAL ATTITUDES IN A STUDY OF THEIR PERCEPTIONS AND EVALUATIONS OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT AND ITS PUBLIC POLICIES.
Abstract
A SURVEY OF 84 STATE AND 147 FEDERAL TRIAL JUDGES USED A QUESTIONNAIRE (APPENDED) WHICH INCLUDED ITEMS RELATING TO LEVELS OF SUPPORT FOR THE SUPREME COURT, ATTITUDES ON A VARIETY OF ISSUES OF PUBLIC POLICY, GENERAL POLITICAL ORIENTATION, AND OTHER SOCIAL AND POLITICAL INDICATORS. AN OVERVIEW OF THE WORLD OF TRIAL COURT JUDGES AND A PORTRAIT OF STATE AND FEDERAL JUDGES IS PROVIDED THROUGH A PAIR OF PERSONAL INTERVIEWS. SUBSEQUENT SECTIONS DISCUSS THE PROCESS OF INTERVIEWING; PRESENT DATA ON A SERIES OF POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC QUESTIONS; ASSESS THE DEGREE OF 'IDEOLOGICAL CONSTRAINT' AMONG THE LOWER COURT JUDGES' SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND ECONOMIC ATTITUDES; AND DESCRIBE THE SOCIALIZATION AND RECRUITMENT OF LOWER COURT JUDGES AS WELL AS THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF THE 'ROLES' OF APPELLATE AND TRIAL JUDGES. THE FOCUS THEN IS SHIFTED FROM THE JUDGES THEMSELVES TO THEIR PERCEPTIONS AND EVALUATIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT AS AN INSTITUTION AND OF ITS PUBLIC POLICIES. IDENTIFIABLE PATTERNS AMONG THE JUDGES ARE EXAMINED, ALONG WITH THE POWER OF THE COURT TO LEGITIMIZE CONTROVERSIAL PUBLIC POLICIES, THE MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS OF SUPPORT FOR THE COURT AMONG LOWER COURT JUDGES, AND A NUMBER OF ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS OF PATTERNS OF DIFFUSE SUPPORT FOR THE COURT. THE FINAL SECTIONS CONSIDER PROBLEMS PRESENTED BY THE RESEARCH, THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS IN TERMS OF THE PERFORMANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SUPREME COURT, AND SUGGESTED AREAS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH. TABULAR AND GRAPHIC DATA AND A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE PROVIDED. (KBL)