The Politics of Precedent on the U.S. Supreme Court

Thomas G. Hansford, James F. Spriggs II

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9780691136332
  9780691123547
• eBook ISBN:
  9780691188041
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: Law

The Politics of Precedent on the U.S. Supreme Court offers an insightful and provocative analysis of the Supreme Court's most important task--shaping the law. Thomas Hansford and James Spriggs analyze a key aspect of legal change: the Court's interpretation or treatment of the precedents it has set in the past. Court decisions do not just resolve immediate disputes; they also set broader precedent. The meaning and scope of a precedent, however, can change significantly as the Court revisits it in future cases. The authors contend that these interpretations are driven by an interaction between policy goals and variations in the legal authoritativeness of precedent. From this premise, they build an explanation of the legal interpretation of precedent that yields novel predictions about the nature and timing of legal change.


Hansford and Spriggs test their hypotheses by examining how the Court has interpreted the precedents it set between 1946 and 1999. This analysis provides compelling support for their argument, and demonstrates that the justices' ideological goals and the role of precedent are inextricably linked. The two prevailing, yet contradictory, views of precedent--that it acts either solely as a constraint, or as a "cloak" that never actually influences the Court--are incorrect. This book shows that while precedent can operate as a constraint on the justices' decisions, it also represents an opportunity to foster preferred societal outcomes.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Acknowledgments
• CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
• CHAPTER TWO: Explaining the Interpretation of Precedent
• CHAPTER THREE: Measuring the Interpretation of Precedent
• CHAPTER FOUR: The Interpretation of Precedent over Time
• CHAPTER FIVE: The Overruling of Precedent
• CHAPTER SIX: The Interpretation of Precedent in Majority Opinions
• CHAPTER SEVEN: Lower Federal Court Responses to the Supreme Court’s Interpretation of Precedent
• CHAPTER EIGHT: Concluding Remarks and Broader Implications
• Appendix
• References
• Index