Bias and Judging

Allison P. Harris · Maya Sen

152 citations0/0 files storedAnnual Review of Political Science

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Judicial and Constitutional Studies Electoral Systems and Political Participation Legal processes and jurisprudence

Abstract

How do we know whether judges of different backgrounds are biased? We review the substantial political science literature on judicial decision making, paying close attention to how judges' demographics and ideology can influence or structure their decision making. As the research demonstrates, characteristics such as race, ethnicity, and gender can sometimes predict judicial decision making in limited kinds of cases; however, the literature also suggests that these characteristics are far less important in shaping or predicting outcomes than is ideology (or partisanship), which in turn correlates closely with gender, race, and ethnicity. This leads us to conclude that assuming judges of different backgrounds are biased because they rule differently is questionable. Given that the application of the law rarely provides one objectively correct answer, it is no surprise that judges' decisions vary according to their personal backgrounds and, more importantly, according to their ideology.

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References

1978Men and Women of the Corporation 2002The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited 2002Dynamic Ideal Point Estimation via Markov Chain Monte Carlo for the U.S. Supreme Court, 1953–1999 1993The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model 1980The new American voter 2003The Supreme Court and the attitudinal model revisited 1997The choices justices make 1989Ideological Values and the Votes of U.S. Supreme Court Justices

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