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The Influence of Amicus Curiae Briefs on U.S. Supreme Court Opinion Content

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Paul M. Collins Jr. ,
Pamela C. Corley  and
Jesse Hamner
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Abstract

We address fundamental questions about the ability of interest groups to shape public policy by examining the influence of amicus curiae briefs on U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion content. We argue that the justices will incorporate language from amicus briefs into their opinions based on the extent to which the amicus briefs contribute to their ability to make effective law and policy. Using plagiarism detection software and other forms of computer assisted content analysis, we find that the justices adopt language from amicus briefs based primarily on the quality of the brief's argument, the level of repetition in the brief, the ideological position advocated in the brief, and the identity of the amicus. These results add fresh insight into how interest groups influence the development of federal law by the Supreme Court.

Type
Articles on Society and the Supreme Court
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 49 , Issue 4 , December 2015 , pp. 917 - 944
Copyright
© 2015 Law and Society Association.

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Footnotes

A previous version of this research was presented at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association. We are grateful to participants on that panel, especially Lee Epstein, Tim Johnson, Richard Posner, Amy Steigerwalt, and Art Ward, for their thoughtful comments on this project. We also extend our thanks to the anonymous reviewers for their very useful feedback.

References

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