Do Attitudes toward Specific Supreme Court Decisions Matter? The Impact of Webster and Texas v. Johnson on Public Confidence in the Supreme Court

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.

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Modeling the Impact of Supreme Court Decisions: Wygant v. Board

The Journal of Politics ◽

10.2307/2131044 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 131-149

Author(s):

Nelson C. Dometrius ◽

Lee Sigelman

Keyword(s):

Supreme Court ◽

Court Decisions ◽

Supreme Court Decisions ◽

The Impact

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

American Review of Politics ◽

10.15763/issn.2374-7781.2006.27.0.209-230 ◽

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.

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