The public's conditional response to Supreme Court decisions
By: JOHNSON, Timothy R
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Contributor(s): MARTIN, Andrew D.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, June 1998American Political Science Review 92, 2, p. 299-310Abstract: We offer a theoretical framework that approaches the puzzle of how the Supreme Court affects public opinion in a novel manner. Specifically, we seek to answer when, if ever, the Court affects public attitudes when it makes decisions. We derive our framework from theories of Supreme Court credibility as well as from a variation on a social-psychological model that suggests that (1) individuals form opinions about an issue when they are provided with information about it, and (2) once individuals form opinions, they do not readily change their mind. With this foundation, we generate predictions about how and when the Court will influence public attitudes about two specific issues: abortion and the death penalty.
We offer a theoretical framework that approaches the puzzle of how the Supreme Court affects public opinion in a novel manner. Specifically, we seek to answer when, if ever, the Court affects public attitudes when it makes decisions. We derive our framework from theories of Supreme Court credibility as well as from a variation on a social-psychological model that suggests that (1) individuals form opinions about an issue when they are provided with information about it, and (2) once individuals form opinions, they do not readily change their mind. With this foundation, we generate predictions about how and when the Court will influence public attitudes about two specific issues: abortion and the death penalty.
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