Race and Redistricting: What the Print Media Conveys to the Public about the Role of Race

In a series of voting rights cases, the U.S. Supreme Court held that race-based redistricting, particularly the intentional formation of majority–minority districts (districts in which voters of color constitute a majority of eligible voters) may be unconstitutional if race was the predominant factor in the formation of the district. The Court stated that "redistricting legislation that is so bizarre on its face that it is unexplainable on grounds other than race" may violate the Constitution because of the messages such districts send to the public ( Shaw v. Reno , 1993 ). Yet neither the Court nor social scientists have examined whether the existence of race-conscious majority–minority districts sends messages to voters and what the nature of these messages may be. This research begins to address this scientific issue. In a quantitative content analysis, we examined messages about racial redistricting conveyed to citizens via the print media. Our sample consisted of 355 newspaper articles about redistricting included in the Lexis–Nexis database between 1990 and 2005. We found that newspaper coverage of racial districting contains messages to citizens about the motives involved in redistricting, the individuals and groups who are responsible for it, and its actual and expected effects. This finding is consistent with the Supreme Court's assumption that districts, particularly bizarrely shaped ones, convey distinct messages to voters. The specific messages communicated varied in important ways across the articles. Newspapers in states subject to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act because of their history of discrimination against voters of color covered racial redistricting differently than states not subject to Section 5. We discuss the legal and theoretical implications of these findings for understanding the role of race in legislative redistricting efforts.     

Women's rights and the Constitution

The revitalization of the Feminist Movement in the late 20th century led to the abandonment of most overt male bias in constitutional law. The Supreme Court replaced its old doctrines that accepted gender discrimination virtually without scrutiny with a rule that gender-based classification must bear a substantial relationship to an important purpose. The limited right to abortion recognized in Roe v. Wade [Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 413 (1973)] has survived 30 years of persistent efforts to negate it. Nevertheless, male bias remains entrenched in American law. Although law is no longer an exclusively male activity, legal rules originated in men's viewpoints and experiences. Examples of this kind of male bias include a concept of self-defense that does not fit the experience of domestic violence victims and child custody rulings that ignore the mother's role as primary caregiver. Unfortunately, constitutional doctrine remains impervious to this type of bias.     

The Use of Research in the Seattle and Jefferson County Desegregation Cases: Connecting Social Science and the Law

On June 28, 2007, a plurality of the United States Supreme Court held that two public school desegregation plans, which relied in part on racial classifications, violated the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This article provides an overview of the cases and discusses the ways in which examples of social science research were used and interpreted by Justices on both sides of the issue. We also describe some differences in perspective between social scientific and legal traditions and offer insights about connections between these perspectives in this and future work.     

Public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court: A new look at the impact of Court decisions

Judicial scholars have long debated the notion that Court decisions can influence the public's attitudes toward the U.S. Supreme Court. We engage this literature by introducing new dimensions to existing theory for predicting the impact of Court decisions on public confidence in the Court and by introducing innovative methods to test our hypotheses. We begin our analysis by examining the relationship between specific Court decisions and public confidence with aggregate time series data. Our analysis then shifts to an examination of individual-level survey data to examine the same hypotheses. Our results indicate that specific decisions can have a significant positive and negative impact on individual-level confidence in the Court. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings for the theoretical and methodological debates over the influence of Court decisions on public confidence.     

Inheriting a political career: The justices of the United States and Louisiana Supreme Courts

Sixty-three percent of the members of the United States Supreme Court (1789–1988) and forty-four percent of the members of the Louisiana Supreme Court (1812–1988) came from politically active families. Inheritors on both courts were preceded in office by close relatives and usually by more than one kinsman. Inheriting a political career is not as common as it once was but the dramatic decline in that pattern with respect to the courts is unique to those institutions. The careers of followers and nonfollowers are different. A family political legacy, which includes knowledge, skills, contacts, and a greater sense of political efficacy, confers career advantages which can be observed and measured.     

All Politics is Not Local: National Forces in State Abortion Initiatives

Objective. Although research suggests that national forces can play a role in local and state elections, most of this work has only recently begun to examine the potential role of national forces in state or local ballot initiative or referenda elections. Methods. Our research addresses this gap in the literature by exploring the influence of national forces, such as the timing of elections, Supreme Court rulings, the activities of interest groups, and public opinion, on state direct legislation elections. We incorporate national forces into the morality politics framework and derive specific hypotheses. We then test these hypotheses by conducting a multivariate analysis of county–level voting patterns across 16 abortion–related direct legislation elections. Results. Our results confirm most of the hypotheses derived from the morality politics framework, including those concerning the role of national forces. Conclusions. Voting patterns on abortion tend to be influenced by the presence of presidential elections, Supreme Court rulings, interest–group activity, public opinion, partisanship, college education, and conservative religious forces. We discuss the implications of our findings for research on elections, abortion policy, and morality politics.     

The dynamics of specific and diffuse support for the U.S. Supreme Court: A panel study

Prior inconsistencies in studies regarding specific and diffuse support for the U.S. Supreme Court have largely resulted from confusing two related yet distinct concepts: the level of diffuse support at a given moment, and change in the level of diffuse support over time. The results of a panel study show that specific support is related to both concepts but in different ways. Overall approval of the Supreme Court positively influences the level of diffuse support at a given moment. However, an individual's reaction to a particular Court decision is mediated by pre-existing ideological tension between the individual and the Court, and can cause a sudden change in that individual's diffuse support level. Post-stimulus diffuse support regeneration within an individual is related to support for democratic norms, awareness of the Court, and satisfaction with other governmental institutions.     

"In My Opinion . . .": Justices' Opinion Writing in the U.S. Supreme Court, 1946–1997

Objectives . We develop hypotheses to explain the opinion writing by justices on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1946–1997. Methods . We use data from the U.S. Supreme Court Database, Phases I and II, to examine the proportion of cases in which a justice writes an opinion each term as well as the differences between writing majority, dissenting, and concurring opinions. OLS regression with robust standard errors is the estimation procedure. Results . We find that a justice's position as Chief Justice, professional and education background, reputation ranking, and tenure on the Court can explain a justice's opinion writing. At the same time, we discover that particular variables have different affects on writing majority, dissenting, or concurring opinions. Conclusions . This study demonstrates the importance of both structural and personal background variables in explaining judicial behavior. It also shows the importance of analyzing different kinds of judicial opinions when explaining the justices' opinion writing.     

Implementing affirmative action in higher education: University responses to Gratz and Grutter

In 2003, the Supreme Court handed down two landmark decisions regarding the use of affirmative action in higher education. In one case, Grutter v. Bollinger, the Court said it was constitutional to consider race in admissions decisions in order to achieve the educational benefits of a diverse student body. In stark contrast, the Court struck down in Gratz v. Bollinger the University of Michigan's undergraduate admissions policy on the grounds that too much of the decision was based on race. In this research note, we surveyed midwestern and southern institutions of higher education to see how college and university presidents in the Fifth and Sixth federal circuits have sought to implement Gratz and Grutter. We find schools in the Fifth Circuit (southern) do not consider race in admissions decisions and those in the Sixth Circuit (midwestern) utilize race to assemble a student body. We suggest that lower federal court precedent may explain why the midwestern schools consider race but the southern schools do not.     

Origins of the New Thinking

On March 19, 1969, the Full Bench (Plenum) of the RSFSR Supreme Court adopted a resolution "On Judicial Practice in Cases of Crimes Comprising Vestiges of Local Customs" [O sudebnoi praktike po delam o prestupleniiakh, sostavliaiushchikh perezhitki mestnykh obychaev].     

From Slavery to Hate Crime Laws: The Emergence of Race and Status-Based Protection in American Criminal Law

Criminal laws that punish discriminatory "hate crime" offenses relating to race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, and other status characteristics trace their roots back to the nation's founding. Unlike today, in early America, status distinctions in law, particularly racial ones, were intended to restrict the exercise of civil rights. Today's hate crime laws are the refined modern progeny of an important class of remedial post–Civil War laws and constitutional amendments. Although the Supreme Court has vigorously upheld enhanced punishment for hate crimes over the last decade, it has also established restrictions on the government's authority to punish bigoted conduct and expression. This article examines, through an analysis of historic cases, laws, and constitutional changes, the legal evolution that culminated in the passage of modern hate crime laws.     

SPECIAL ISSUE： EXAMINING THE DEATH PENALTY IN CHINA An empirical study of the application of death penalty

本文以最高法院示范性案例中的全部“死罪”案例为样本进行法律解释学的实证研究，发现了犯罪中是否构成死罪、死罪中是否适用死刑、死刑中是否立即执行的一些重要不同，并根据这些发现认为，法律解释既是规范判断又是自主判断，应尽可能提高法律本身的明确性以呼唤死刑适用更大程度上向规范层面的回归。     

EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW: THE LIMITS OF LEGAL AID AND THE COST OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

The High Court decision in the Dietrich case highlighted the perilous state of legal aid in Australia when it instructed judges to refuse to hear criminal trials when a person has no legal counsel due to inability to pay and has been denied legal aid. The decision of the High Court places pressure on the Federal Government to resolve the situation by legislating a guaranteed right of legal representation. This article discusses the inadequacies of the legal system by examining the implications of the Dietrich case. It is argued that recent government reports only provide a piecemeal approach to improving access to justice and what is needed is wider systemic change in the form of universal legal insurance. Only in this way can citizenship rights he reasserted to ensure social justice.     

生命价值观下的“同命同价”与“同命不同价”

我国目前正处于通过创制及健全相关民事立法——侵权责任法来积极应对各种事故导致人身与财产损害后果的关键时期。几年前最高人民法院关于人身侵权死亡赔偿的一个司法解释引发了社会上“同命同价”与“同命不同价”的激烈争论。生命双重价值观命题的提出对于理性回应“同命同价”与“同命：再同价”的质疑及剖析相关问题，具有一定的启示意义。     

‘Boy, 15, Divorces Parent’: Irreconcilable Difference Applications in Victoria

The provision in Victoria's child welfare legislation, which allows parents or children to apply to the Children's Court on the ground of irreconcilable differences, is examined in the light of a much publicized case in Melbourne. Similar legislation exists elsewhere in Australia, and in New Zealand. The number of irreconcilable difference applications has declined in recent years due to the provision of counselling. A few cases still reach court. It is argued that legal proceedings serve little useful function. Cases of family breakdown are better handled by the provision of services including alternative accommodation, without a change in the child's legal status.     

Breaking it is one thing,fixing it is another: Responsibility attributions and support for the U.S. Presidency,Congress, and the Supreme Court

When do attributions of responsibility predict support for governmental institutions? Data from an online survey of 508 United States citizens examining attributions for their most salient national problem revealed associations between attributions and evaluations of the Presidency, Supreme Court, and Congress. With respect to the Presidency, causal attributions were related to more negative evaluations, while resolution attributions were related to more positive evaluations. This was especially true for conservative participants. With respect to the Supreme Court, causal attributions were related to more negative evaluations. With respect to Congress, there was an association between causal attributions and negative evaluations, but only for those with a low level of resolution attributions. Results are discussed in terms of the political climate and differences in institutional expectations.     

Acclimation Effects on the Supreme Court of Canada: A Cross‐Cultural Examination of Judicial Folklore*

Objective. Few public law theories developed to understand the decision making of U.S. courts have been examined in different cultural settings. This study examines the applicability of the “freshman effects” theory in the context of the Canadian Supreme Court. Methods. The article uses analysis of variance tests to examine changes in the voting and authorship patterns of 15 Canadian Supreme Court Justices during the Laskin, Dickson, and Lamer Court periods (1973–1999). Results. We find very little evidence of acclimation effects on the Canadian Supreme Court. However, through the Chief Justice's power to compose decision panels, Canadian justices in their first full year of service are assigned significantly fewer cases than in subsequent years of their career. Thus, Canadian justices are given time to acclimate to the high court through a lower workload, a luxury not afforded to U.S. justices. Conclusions. Theories of public law adopted to understand U.S. courts may be limited in their generalizability beyond the U.S. setting because of the institutional and political forces that shape judicial decision making in other courts.     

State Policies as a Source of Civil Law*

State policies exert a great influence over Chinese civil justice. Article 6 of the General Principles of Civil Law stipulates that state policies are a source of civil law, but the path by which they enter civil justice is not a rational one and may lead to adjudication difficulties with state policies. State policies are integrated with state law, and the laws and legal interpretations formulated by the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee, judicial interpretations, administrative regulations, autonomous regulations and special regulations, administrative rules and other regulatory documents are forms of expression of state policies. Different rules for adjudication apply depending on the different vehicles of state policy. The Supreme People’s Court can play a role in making public policy and guiding state policy into civil adjudication through “open” and “unseen” channels.     

Practical reasons and reasonable practice: the case of euthanasia in The Netherlands

Since the early 1970s the issue of euthanasia has been intensely debated in The Netherlands. Through these debates knowledge about medical practices involving the end of life was no longer confined to medical or legal quarters, but became public to a large extent. Following public opinion changes, the legal reaction to euthanasia changed. By prosecuting test cases the public prosecutors allowed the Dutch Supreme Court to formulate specific conditions in which euthanasia would go unpunished. The political debate about changing the criminal law, which still holds that euthanasia is a serious crime, developed at a much slower pace. Several extensive empirical studies were undertaken to gain valid knowledge about the medical practices. This article is concerned with a presentation of the various debates and the changes that took place in the fields of criminal law, politics, and medicine. The main conclusion is the hypothesis that a more open climate for medical practices concerning the end of life allows society to better control these practices.