Lawyers in Congress

What Difference Does It Make

Bibliographic Data

ID6183155
AuthorsMark Crispin Miller (Clark University, corresponding author)
Year1993
Volume20
Issue1
Pages1-24
Publication date1993-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCongress & the Presidency (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0734-3469 • E-ISSN: 1944-1053
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/07343469309507888
OpenAlexW2552300954
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited71

Roger Davidson and Nelson Polsby have both argued that social scientists have missed some of the very important effects that legislators' legal training has on the legislative process. Although lawyer members dominate the U.S. Congress, there has been little study about how their legal training affects Congress as an institution. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, this study finds that lawyers have more positive attitudes toward the courts, are less likely to see the courts as politically motivated, are less willing to strip the courts of jurisdiction, and see congressional reaction to the courts as non-routine. Various scholars have claimed that the federal courts are protected from congressional attacks because of their prestige and because of their special role in our governmental system. These arguments capture how the lawyers in this study view the courts. Thus the behavior of many legislators is affected by their legal training and socialization

Institution · Jurisdiction · Legislative process · Legislature · Political science · Prestige · Social science · Socialization · Sociology · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems · Legal and Constitutional Studies

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