Doctoral Dissertation Research: Rogue Agents? Judicial Decision Making at the Federal Courts of Appeals

提案号：0719000提案题目：博士论文研究：流氓代理人？联邦上诉法院的司法决策。摘要：本论文旨在检验最高法院是否以及在多大程度上通过其偏好和决定影响下级法院法官的选择。真正有意义的影响需要最终案件结果的一致性，对委托人偏好的响应性，以及在不同偏好的情况下表现出这种行为。如果法官的行为确实与他们自己的偏好不一致，只有这样，最高法院才能被视为司法制度中适当和有效的主体。通过研究美国上诉法院的言论自由和堕胎案件，我将研究上诉法院的判决如何随着最高法院的判决和偏好的变化而变化。这些数据是从Lexis/Nexis的搜索中收集的，将是联邦上诉法院在这些问题领域中较为全面的两个案例集，为司法政治的许多方面的研究打开了大门。此外，一般框架适用于审查政府协调部门动态的三权分立文献以及官僚机构和立法委员会的委托代理模型。最后，本研究也具有教育意义。本文的分析框架可用于对司法政治或高级方法论感兴趣的本科生和研究生的教育和培训。

Proposal Number: 0719000Proposal Title: Doctoral Dissertation Research: Rogue Agents? Judicial Decision Making at the Federal Courts of Appeals.Principal Investigator: Jeffrey SegalCo-PI: Maxwell MakPerforming Organization: SUNY Stony BrookAbstract:This dissertation tests for whether and to what degree the Supreme Court, through its preferences and decisions, can influence the choices lower-court judges make. Truly meaningful influence requires congruence in the eventual case outcome, responsiveness to the principal's preferences, and evincing such behavior in spite of divergent preferences. If judges do indeed behave in a manner inconsistent with their own preferences, only then can the Supreme Court be seen as an adequate and effective principal of the judicial hierarchy. Examining free speech and abortion cases decided at the U.S. Courts of Appeals, I will examine how Court of Appeals decisions change as Supreme Court decisions and preferences change. The data, collected from searches on Lexis/Nexis, will be two of the more comprehensive collections of cases at the Federal Courts of Appeals in these issue areas, opening the door for research in many aspects of judicial politics. Also, the general framework is applicable to the separation of powers literature examining the dynamics of the coordinate branches of government as well as principal-agent models of bureaucracies and legislative committees. Finally, this research also has educational implications. The analytical framework of this dissertation can be used in the education and training of undergraduate and graduate students with interests in judicial politics or advanced methodology.