scholarly journals Connecting Supreme Court Decisions, Media Coverage, and Public Opinion: The Case of Lawrence v. Texas

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 209-230
Author(s):  
Mahalley D. Allen ◽  
Donald P. Haider-Markel
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Gay And Lesbian ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Media ◽  
Supreme Court Decisions ◽  
The Relationship

Many scholars have examined the relationship between public opinion and the U.S. Supreme Court, but most researchers have often failed to take into account the fact that the press mediates this relationship. Due to the public’s lack of independent knowledge about Supreme Court decisions, the media has the potential to play an influential role in the communication and interpretation of Supreme Court decisions. In this article, we examine the relationship between the Supreme Court, the media, and public opinion. First, we examine whether increased public tolerance on gay and lesbian issues has resulted in increased media coverage of gay-related cases before the Supreme Court. Second, we examine how media coverage of the Court’s 2003 decision to strike down state sodomy laws in Lawrence v. Texas may have been associated with decreased public support for gay and lesbian civil rights. Our analysis suggests that increased support for gay and lesbian civil rights may have lead to increased media attention to the Lawrence case and that the tone of this coverage may have subsequently resulted in an observed decrease in support for gay and lesbian civil rights following the Court’s decision. We also suggest that the release of a highly critical dissenting opinion by the Court in the case may have encouraged negative media coverage and the resulting shift in public opinion. Our research has broad implications for media coverage of Supreme Court decisions.

scholarly journals Le droit de recours de l'entrepreneur contre l'ingénieur ou l'architecte à la lumière d'arrêts récents de la Cour suprême

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 625-638
Author(s):  
Thérèse Rousseau-Houle
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Supreme Court Decisions ◽  
The Relationship

This paper surveys recent Supreme Court decisions dealing with the relationship between building contractors and architects or engineers participating in the same project. Normally, the agreement between the owner and the architect or the owner and the engineer vests no rights in the building contractor. The latter may only sue the architect or the engineer on an extra-contractual basis. Proceedings may then take the form of a recursory action, where the contractor, having been held jointly and severally liable towards the owner, attempts to have the architect or engineer take their share of liability. Alternatively, proceedings could be taken on the basis of a delict, in cases where negligence is alleged by the contractor against the architect or engineer. The Supreme Court seems inclined to view the problem from a contract perspective, and to restrict opportunities to sue on the basis of a delict.

scholarly journals Mass Media Reporting of Canadian Supreme Court Decisions: Mapping the Terrain

2000 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Taras
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Research Report ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
The Media ◽  
Supreme Court Decisions ◽  
Vantage Points

Abstract: This research report describes a three-year study that is being undertaken by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from across Canada on media coverage of Supreme Court decisions. The report describes the changing role of the Supreme Court in Canadian public life and the role of the media as both a vehicle for publicizing decisions and as a check on the Court's power. The study will explore media reporting from a number of vantage points-direct observation at the Court and in newsrooms, interviews, an in-depth study of how a number of important cases were reported, and an analysis of a year in the life of the Court. Workshops with members of the legal and journalistic communities and with citizens are also a crucial element in the study. Résumé: Ce rapport de recherche décrit une étude de trois ans sur la couverture médiatique de décisions prises par la Cour suprême. Une équipe interdisciplinaire de chercheurs d'une part à l'autre du Canada a mené cette étude. Ce rapport décrit le rôle changeant de la Cour suprême dans la vie publique canadienne et le rôle des médias dans la diffusion des décisions de la Cour et la capacité des médias de restreindre les pouvoirs de celle-ci. Cette étude a recours à plusieurs approches différentes pour explorer la couverture médiatique: l'observation directe de la Cour même et de salles de rédaction d'informations; des entrevues; une étude en profondeur de la maniére dont plusieurs cas furent couverts; et l'analyse d'un an dans la vie de la Cour. En outre, des ateliers avec des membres des communautés juridiques et journalistiques et avec des citoyens sont des éléments cruciaux de l'étude.

Reassessing the Impact of Supreme Court Decisions on Public Opinion: Gay Civil Rights Cases

2006 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Stoutenborough ◽  
Donald P. Haider-Markel ◽  
Mahalley D. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Supreme Court Decisions ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Some psychological impacts on judging in criminal cases within the Supreme Court of Cassation of the Republic of Serbia

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-28
Author(s):  
Dragutin Avramović
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Judicial Decisions ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Psychological Impacts ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Media Pressure

Following hypothesis of Andrew Watson, American professor of Psychiatry and Law, the author analyses certain psychological impacts on behavior of judges and examines the relationship between their idiosyncrasies and their judicial decisions. The survey encompasses the judges of Criminal Department of the Supreme Court of Cassation of the Republic of Serbia and, also, for comparative reasons, the judges of Criminal Department of the First Basic Court in Belgrade. Considering the main issues there is no great discrepancy between answers given by the judges of the Supreme Court and those of the Basic Court. Most responses of the Serbian judges deviate from Watson's conclusions, namely: they do not admit that they feel frustrated due to heavy caseloads, the significant majority of judges are reluctant to acknowledge their prejudices and influence of biases on their ruling, the significant majority of judges are not burdened with the idea of possible misuse of their discretion, they nearly unanimously deny that public opinion and media pressure affect their rulings, etc. Generally, the judges in Serbia are not willing to admit that they cannot always overcome their own subjectivities.

scholarly journals Equality Kapped; Media Unleashed

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Diana Majury
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
General Public ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Substantive Equality ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Media ◽  
Formal Equality ◽  
Grand Public

In this paper, Diana Majury looks at the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent s.15 decision, R. v. Kapp, in a preliminary exploration of the different understandings of equality she sees operating in three different sites (the Supreme Court, equality advocates, and the general public). She looks at the first two sites simultaneously by offering her equality advocate’s critique of the Kapp decision, outlining where the decision falls short of the substantive equality that equality advocates have been theorizing and promoting. She then looks at media responses to the decision, responses that almost unanimously present a formal equality understanding of equality. Recognizing that media coverage provides only a very limited and partial window on public perceptions, the media coverage of Kapp nonetheless raises the spectre that the general public understands equality only to mean formal equality. This conclusion highlights the importance of Rose Vyovodic’s work in combining equality and public education and the need for that work to be continued and expanded.Dans cet article, Diana Majury examine le récent jugement R. c. Kapp de la Cour Suprême du Canada en rapport avec l’article 15 pour faire une exploration préliminaire des compréhensions diverses de l’égalité qu’elle constate être en jeu dans trois lieux différents (la Cour Suprême, chez les défenseurs de l’égalité et chez le grand public). Elle examine les deux premiers lieux simultanément en présentant sa critique du jugement Kapp en tant que défenseure de l’égalité, exposant en quoi le jugement n’atteint pas l’égalité de fond au sujet de laquelle théorisent et que préconisent les défenseurs de l’égalité. Puis elle examine les réactions médiatiques au jugement, réactions qui présentent presque unanimement une compréhension d’égalité comme égalité formelle. Tout en reconnaissant que la couverture médiatique ne présente qu’une fenêtre très limitée et partielle sur les perceptions du public, la couverture médiatique de Kapp laisse tout de même pressentir que le grand public ne conçoit l’égalité que dans le sens d’égalité formelle. Cette conclusion fait ressortir l’importance de l’oeuvre de Rose Vyovodic qui combinait égalité et éducation du public et le besoin que cette oeuvre se poursuive et grandisse.

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