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Attributes beyond Attitudes: Personality Traits on the US Supreme Court

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2022

Matthew E. K. Hall ,
Gary E. Hollibaugh Jr. ,
Jonathan D. Klingler  and
Adam J. Ramey
Matthew E. K. Hall*
Affiliation:
University of Notre Dame, USA
Gary E. Hollibaugh Jr.
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh, USA
Jonathan D. Klingler
Affiliation:
University of Mississippi, USA
Adam J. Ramey
Affiliation:
New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE
*
Contact the corresponding author, Matthew E. K. Hall, at matt.hall@nd.edu.
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Abstract

Models of behavior on the US Supreme Court almost universally assume that justices’ behavior depends, at least in part, on the characteristics of individual justices. However, few prior studies have attempted to assess these characteristics beyond ideological preferences. In contrast, we apply recent advances in machine learning to develop and validate measures of the Big Five personality traits for Supreme Court justices serving during the 1946 through 2015 terms based on the language in their written opinions. We then conduct an empirical application to demonstrate the importance of these Supreme Court Individual Personality Estimates and discuss their proper use.

Type
Symposium
Information
Journal of Law and Courts , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , Fall 2021 , pp. 345 - 369
Copyright
© 2021 Law and Courts Organized Section of the American Political Science Association. All rights reserved.

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