Estimating Judicial Ideology

We review the substantial literature on estimating judicial ideology, from the US Supreme Court to the lowest state court. As a way to showcase the strengths and drawbacks of various measures, we further analyze trends in judicial polarization within the US federal courts. Our analysis shows substan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of economic perspectives Vol. 35; no. 1; pp. 97 - 118
Main Authors Bonica, Adam, Sen, Maya
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published American Economic Association 01.01.2021
Subjects
Polarization in Courts
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN0895-3309
1944-7965
DOI10.1257/jep.35.1.97

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Summary:We review the substantial literature on estimating judicial ideology, from the US Supreme Court to the lowest state court. As a way to showcase the strengths and drawbacks of various measures, we further analyze trends in judicial polarization within the US federal courts. Our analysis shows substantial gaps in the ideology of judges appointed by Republican Presidents versus those appointed by Democrats. Similar to trends in Congressional polarization, the increasing gap is mostly driven by a rightward movement by judges appointed by Republicans. We conclude by noting important avenues for future research in the study of the ideology of judges.
ISSN:0895-3309
1944-7965
DOI:10.1257/jep.35.1.97