Thirty Years of Social Science in Supreme Court Criminal Cases

Bibliographic Data

ID6090763
AuthorsJames R Acker (University at Albany, State University of New York, corresponding author)
Year1990
Volume12
Issue1
Pages1-23
Publication date1990-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLaw & Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0265-8240 • E-ISSN: 1467-9930
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-9930.1990.tb00039.x
OpenAlexW1964391880
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited50

The Supreme Court early took note of extralegal, “social science” materials in Muller v. Oregon (1908), and a half‐century later made specific reference to social science authorities in the famous footnote 11 of Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Since Brown, much has been written about the Supreme Court's use of social science research evidence, but there has been little systematic study of that use. Those writing on the subject commonly focus on areas of law such as jury size, where social science has been used, and have generally assumed that social science information has been utilized in Supreme Court decisions with increasing regularity. Surprisingly little is known, however, about either the justices' baseline use of social science authorities, or many other aspects of their uses of social science information. The focus here is on the citation of social science research evidence in a sample of 240 criminal cases decided during the 30 years between the Supreme Court's 1958 and 1987 Terms. The resulting portrait contributes to a fuller understanding of the justices' use of social science materials, and may ultimately help promote more effective utilization of social science research evidence in Supreme Court decisions

Certiorari · Jury · Original jurisdiction · Political science · Sociology · Supreme court · Supreme Court Decisions · Jury Decision Making Processes · Law · Legal Education and Practice Innovations · Occupational and Professional Licensing Regulation

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