Neither the Purse Nor the Sword
Dynamics of Public Confidence in the Supreme Court
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3138458 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gregory A Caldeira (The Ohio State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1986 |
| Volume | 80 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 1209-1226 |
| Publication date | 1986-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Political Science Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1960864 |
| OpenAlex | W4231865642 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 57 |
| References cited | 34 |
Systematic study of changes in support for the U.S. Supreme Court across time has not been undertaken. Armed with a time series of observations from 1966 through 1984, I provide a description of the ebb and flow of public esteem for the Court. Then I outline and test several plausible propositions about the dynamics of support. Statistical analyses compel the conclusion that apart from a relatively constant core of support, increases in judicial activism, inflation, and solicitude for the rights of the accused decreased confidence in the Court; the events surrounding Watergate and increases in presidential popularity and the public salience of the Court brought about increased popular esteem for the high bench. Previous scholars, based on cross-sections of individuals, have emphasized the public's ignorance of and disinterest in the Supreme Court and judicial policy making. The responsiveness of public support for the Court in the aggregate to political events and shifts in the behavior of the justices stands in stark contrast to the conventional image of United States citizenry as singularly out of touch with and unmoved by the Supreme Court
Concurring opinion · Court of record · Dissenting opinion · Majority opinion · Original jurisdiction · Political science · Politics · Popularity · Salience (neuroscience · State supreme court · Supreme court · Supreme Court Decisions · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Legal and Constitutional Studies · Psychology
Reducing courts' failure-to-appear rate by written reminders
Citizens and the State
Intermediate Organizations and Interest Representation
Trust and tribulation
Black representation and the popular legitimacy of the Federal Reserve
Measuring the Countermajoritarian Nature of Supreme Court Decisions
Trust in the courts of Hong Kong
The Impact of Oral Argument Attendance
Second-Order Evaluations of the European Court of Human Rights
Lower Courts in Interbranch Conflict
Constitutional Recency and Support for Judicial Review
In the Light
The courts/parliament trade-off
Courts as hegemonic institutions
Russians and the legal system
Media Coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court
Mutual Bonds
Measuring constitutional loyalty
Testing racial and ethnic differences in the correlates of court legitimacy
Sentencing policy and disparity
Citizen assessment of local criminal courts
The unintended consequences of increased access to justice
The U.S. Supreme Court's Incorporation and Interpretation of Precedent
Compensation and Compliance
Latin American Courts Going Public
Naming Names
The Verdict is in
Confidence in the Judiciary
Confidence in Institutions Before, During, and After “Indecision 2000
An Appeal to the People
The Shepherding of Local Public Opinion
Federal District Judges and Presidential Power During the Postwar Era
Framing Support for the Supreme Court in the Aftermath of Bush v. Gore
The Dynamics of Public Support for the Supreme Court
Sensationalism and Sobriety Differential Media Exposure and Attitudes Toward American Courts
The Supreme Court, Factions, and the Counter-Majoritarian Difficulty
Extra-judicial Actor Induced Change in Supreme Court Legitimacy
Do Policy Messengers Matter? Majority Opinion Writers as Policy Cues in Public Agreement with Supreme Court Decisions
Media Attention and Deliberation on the Supreme Court
Ideology and Specific Support for the Supreme Court
Ideological Proximity and Support for The Supreme Court
Inter-Institutional Dynamics
Judicial Behavior and Public Opinion
Public Trust in Latin America's Courts
Differential public support and the independence of anti-corruption agencies
Public confidence in the judiciary
The Supreme Court at the Bar of Public Opinion Polls
Why People Turn to Institutions They Detest
Regimes and the Rule of Law
Reassessing the Institutional Legitimacy of the South African Constitutional Court
Supreme Court Oral Arguments and Institutional Maintenance
Judicial self fashioning
Judicial Independence across Democratic Regimes
Between impartiality and politicization
The Politics of Punishment and the Siege of Sarajevo
Faith in the Court
The Influence of Public Sentiment on Supreme Court Opinion Clarity
The confidence gap
The New American Political System
Supreme Court Activism and Restraint
Representatives and Represented
Press Coverage of the United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court in the American System of Government
Explaining Presidential Popularity
Patterns of Public Support for the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court and Public Opinion
The Political Party Basis of Attitudes Toward the Supreme Court
Public Opinion and Supreme Court
Why Do Americans Love Their Congressmen so Much More than Their Congress
Political Drama, Economic Conditions, and the Dynamics of Presidential Popularity
The Theory of Presidential Association
Some Themes in Congressional Unpopularity
The Constitution as Symbol
The Impact of Judicial Activism on Public Opinion
Trends in Public Support for the American Party System
The United States Supreme Court and Criminal Cases, 1935–1976
Support for the Supreme Court as a National Policymaker
Children's Images of the Supreme Court
Rejoinder to "Comment" by Jack Citrin
The Supreme Court and Myth
Lawyers Judge the Warren Court
Public Opinion and the United States Supreme Court
Support for the Party System by the Mass Public
| Unique citing works | 57 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,54 |
| Citation span | 1989 - 2026 (38) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 56 |