Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Policymaking Role of State Supreme Courts

本项目从比较的角度研究法院和立法机构之间的关系，考虑立法结果如何受到州内和州内司法分支的影响。具体而言，本论文提出了三个基本问题。首先，当州立法机关引入政策并颁布立法时，州立法机关是否会改变他们的行为以期待司法回应？第二，第一阶段的立法行为（即，在颁布阶段的影响行为？第三，法院的优先购买权是否因政策领域而异？为了解决这些问题，调查员将检查的因素，预计将影响立法行为与国家最高法院，在所有50个州在1990年至2000年。关于州最高法院在政策制定竞技场中的作用的假设将在政策过程的法案介绍和颁布阶段以及两个政策领域进行测试：1）教育政策和2）健康管理组织的监管（HMO监管）。 预计有三个主要因素有助于立法分支评估法院是敌对的还是友好的：1）州立法机构和州最高法院之间的意识形态距离，2）法院干预的可能性（即，州最高法院专门处理特定政策领域案件的比例），以及3）州最高法院（在特定问题内）对案件的意识形态处理。该项目的目标是提供一个更完整的政策进程模式，强调司法分支的决策作用，并承认政府各分支之间的互动。 从根本上说，这项研究将揭示关于法院对政策的影响，通过比较和纵向检查的立法行为相对于州最高法院在两个阶段的政策过程中跨越两个政策领域的常年争论。

This project examines the relationship between courts and legislatures in a comparative perspective, considering how legislative outcomes are impacted by the judicial branch across and within states. Specifically, this dissertation asks three fundamental questions. First, do state legislatures alter their behavior in anticipation of judicial response when the legislature introduces policy and enacts legislation? Second, does legislative behavior in stage one (i.e., introductory stage) impact behavior in the enactment stage? Third, does court preemptive power vary across policy areas? To address these questions, the investigator will examine the factors expected to influence legislative behavior vis-a-vis state supreme courts, in all fifty states during 1990 to 2000. Hypotheses about the role of state supreme courts in the policymaking arena will be tested in both the bill introduction and enactment stages of the policy process, and across two policy areas: 1) education policy and 2) the regulation of Health Management Organizations (HMO regulation). Three main factors are expected to assist the legislative branch with their assessment of whether the court is hostile or friendly: 1) ideological distance between state legislatures and state supreme courts, 2) likelihood of court intervention (i.e., proportion of state supreme court docket devoted to a specific policy area), and 3) ideological disposition of cases decided by state supreme courts (within a given issue). The goal of this project is to provide a more complete model of the policy process that underscores the policymaking role of the judicial branch and recognizes the interactions among governmental branches. Fundamentally, this research will shed light on the perennial debate regarding the impact of courts on policy through a comparative and longitudinal examination of legislative behavior vis-a-vis state supreme courts in two stages of the policy process across two policy areas.