The Federal Court System

Abstract

We applaud Professor Merrill's bold and noteworthy effort to engage in a dialogue with political scientists who study the Supreme Court. He navigates a substantial body of social science scholarship largely ignored by legal scholars, but he does so with the critical eye of someone who firmly believes that "the law" matters. The result is keenly and refreshingly original and should influence work on both sides of the Supreme Court scholarship divide. The most significant aspect of Merrill's article is his consideration of the Supreme Court as an institution. Court studies frequently treat the Court as a collection of individuals who act in response to personal views; the attitudinal model that Merrill discusses takes such a classical, micro-level approach. An institutional perspective, by contrast, emphasizes the influence of interactions among the Justices, as well as the context within which they make decisions. Merrill lucidly delineates both the internal and external aspects of institutional analysis. We wish to add an element to the Merrill model that we believe enriches it without diminishing its parsimony. The external characteristic that we consider is the Supreme Court's organizational relationship with lower courts, particularly courts of appeals.