Collaborative Research on the Formation of Opinion Coalitions on the U.S. Supreme Court

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9320666 MERSHON This collaborative project investigates how coalitions are formed on the U.S. Supreme Court. A particular focus is the process by which opinions are written, often including many drafts and various shifts in position as the doctrines that could decide a case are debated among the members of the Court. The proposed research has scientific significance for two reasons. First, by emphasizing the policies and doctrine enunciated by the Court through its opinions, rather than simply counting votes on winning and losing sides, the project refocuses the scientific study of the American legal system. Second, the project expands the field of coalition analysis by examining an institution composed of non-elected officials instead of legislatures and political parties. To test the model of opinion coalition, the project calls for the collection of data from two sources: the official records of the Supreme Court of the United States and the collected papers of five justices, spanning from Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite to Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall. Specific information culled from these sources includes: the policies at issue, the tentative and final votes of the justices, the size and composition of opinion coalitions, the number of opinion drafts, and the length of time between votes on the merits and final opinions. ***