Public Support for the Supreme Court in the Obama Era: Expectancy Theory and the Replacement of Justice Souter

公民对司法机构的态度具有重要的政治意义。社会科学家们现在普遍认为，很少有形式的政治资本像合法性那样对政治机构有用，而没有任何机构比司法机构更依赖合法性。传统的观点是，法院既没有钱袋的权力，也没有刀剑的权力，因此依赖于通常源于合法性的自愿服从。但事实是，无论合法性对法院多么有用，如果没有某种机制来引导公民相信接受其政策产出是正确的做法，任何政治制度都不可能有效。根据最近索尼娅·索托马约尔（Sonia Sotomayor）被提名填补斯蒂芬·g·布雷耶（Stephen G. Breyer）法官退休后留下的空缺，PI将通过一项全国性调查来调查公众对最高法院的态度。具体来说，PI将检验一个假设，即引起关注的司法事件（如索托马约尔被提名为最高法院大法官）将激活对法律和法院的休眠态度。这项研究的结果将加强对公众舆论和法院动态的理解，并为联邦司法机构成员的选择过程提供独特的见解。

The attitudes citizens hold toward judicial institutions are of great political significance. Social scientists are now generally in agreement that few forms of political capital are as useful to political institutions as legitimacy, and no institution is more dependent upon legitimacy than the judiciary. The conventional view is that courts have neither the power of the purse nor of the sword and are therefore dependent upon the voluntary compliance that typically springs from legitimacy. But the truth is that, however useful legitimacy may be to courts, no political institution could be effective without some mechanism for inducing citizens to believe that accepting its policy outputs is the right thing to do. Using a nationwide survey, the PI will investigate public attitudes about the Supreme Court in light of the recent nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Justice Stephen G. Breyer. Specifically, the PI will test the hypothesis that attention-getting judicial events (such as the nomination of Sotomayor to the Court) will activate dormant attitudes toward law and courts. The findings from this study will enhance understanding of the dynamics of public opinion and the courts as well as provide unique insights into the process by which members of the federal judiciary are selected.