The United States Supreme Court and Politics

Judicial Retirements, the Docket, and the Nomination Process

Justin P. DePlato - With Matthew M. Markulin

While common-sense attitudes towards the United States Supreme Court have been focused on what decisions they are likely to make, this book aims to focus on the impacts of other politicized elements of the Court. Through statistical modeling and other quantitative analyses, Justin DePlato examines the ability of the presidency and the Senate to influence and shape policy through the Court’s nomination process, docket selection, and judicial retirements. The Court operating as a political institution threatens to affect, where it hasn’t already outright intervened, civil liberties and social issues in the modern era and represents a controversial mechanic in the workings of American statecraft.

Lexington Books

Pages: 102 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼

978-1-4985-1218-3 • Hardback • November 2019 • $99.00 • (£76.00)

978-1-4985-1219-0 • eBook • November 2019 • $94.00 • (£72.00)

Subjects: Political Science / American Government / Judicial Branch, Law / Courts, Political Science / American Government / National

The United States Supreme Court and Politics

Judicial Retirements, the Docket, and the Nomination Process

Hardback

eBook

Summary

While common-sense attitudes towards the United States Supreme Court have been focused on what decisions they are likely to make, this book aims to focus on the impacts of other politicized elements of the Court. Through statistical modeling and other quantitative analyses, Justin DePlato examines the ability of the presidency and the Senate to influence and shape policy through the Court’s nomination process, docket selection, and judicial retirements. The Court operating as a political institution threatens to affect, where it hasn’t already outright intervened, civil liberties and social issues in the modern era and represents a controversial mechanic in the workings of American statecraft.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 102 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼

978-1-4985-1218-3 • Hardback • November 2019 • $99.00 • (£76.00)

978-1-4985-1219-0 • eBook • November 2019 • $94.00 • (£72.00)

Subjects: Political Science / American Government / Judicial Branch, Law / Courts, Political Science / American Government / National

Author

Justin P DePlato is associate professor of political science at Robert Morris University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Court, Ideology and Decision making

Chapter 2: Judicial Nominations and Ideology

Chapter 3: The Diminishing Docket

Chapter 4: Judicial Retirements

Reviews

In this interesting study, DePlato and Markulin look at the role of ideology and politics in the Supreme Count, as revealed by timing of retirements, nominations of justices, and docket selection. The authors are to be lauded for studying these processes empirically—they let the data tell the story—and for the clarity of their prose, which is neither too verbose nor too reliant on jargon. Recommended.

— Choice Reviews