Date of Award
4-2017
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Dr. Patrick Donnay
Abstract
Although normative questions about the role of the Supreme Court as a countermajoritarian institution have been commonly debated in political science research, an updated empirical question on Mishler and Sheehan’s (1993), study on public opinion and its impact on the Court must be asked. It has been 25 years since the publication of their study and numerous high profile cases such as Bush v. Gore, Citizens United v. FEC, and Obergefell v. Hodges have brought nationwide attention to the Supreme Court and how it interacts with public opinion. Results from empirical measurements of the Supreme Court’s decisions and what impact public opinion has, indicates no existence of a significant relationship. The Supreme Court's ideological composition changes in response to the ideological orientation of the president rather than a shift in public opinion. Mishler and Sheehan described the Court’s ideological balance since 1981 as being upset and undermined because of an unbroken string of conservative-to-moderate appointments. In the 25 years since the study, the countermajoritarian trend they noted at the beginning of the early 90’s seems to be continuing.
Recommended Citation
Tompkins, Evan, "The Supreme Court’s Countermajoritarianism? What Impact Does Public Opinion Have On the Supreme Court Decisions?" (2017). Political Science Theses and Capstones. 55.
https://pines.bemidjistate.edu/capstone-polisci/55
Included in
American Politics Commons, Constitutional Law Commons, Judges Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Law and Society Commons, Other American Studies Commons, Public Administration Commons, Public Affairs Commons, Public Interest Commons, Supreme Court of the United States Commons
