Majority Opinions

Stephen Jessee is a Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. His interests include American politics and statistical methodology, including voting, public opinion, and the behavior of members of Congress and the Supreme Court. His research has been published in the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, Political Analysis, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences among other outlets. Neil Malhotra is the Edith M. Cornell Professor of Political Economy at Stanford Graduate School of Business and Professor (by courtesy) at the Stanford University Department of Political Science. He has authored over 90 articles on numerous topics including American politics, political behavior, and survey methodology. His research has been published in the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, among other outlets. He is the co-author of Leading with Values: Strategies for Making Ethical Decisions in Business and Life (Cambridge University Press, 2022). Maya Sen is Professor of Public Policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Her interests include law, political economy, and American institutions. Sen's research has been published in journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Political Science Review, and has been covered by the New York Times, the Washington Post, National Public Radio, and other outlets. She has testified before Congress and presidential commissions on issues pertaining to the federal courts. She is the author of two books, The Judicial Tug of War: How Lawyers, Politicians, and Ideological Incentives Shape the American Judiciary (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and Deep Roots: How Slavery Still Shapes Southern Politics (2016), which won the 2019 William H. Riker Book Award for best book in political economy.

'After decades of research, saying something new about the relationship between public opinion and the Court is quite a feat. Saying something surprising – using purpose-built data analyzed with care – is astonishing. That's exactly what Jessee, Malhotra, and Sen deliver. Readers both familiar with existing studies and new to the field will find genuinely interesting insights in every chapter.' Lee Epstein, Ethan A.H. Shepley Distinguished University Professor, Washington University in St. Louis

• 1. Introduction; Part I. The Relationship Between the Court's Rulings and Public Opinion: Why compare rulings to the public?; 2. Survey overview and methodology; 3. Ebb and flow of rulings and public opinion; 4. Perceptions and projections; Part II. Perceptions and Downstream Consquences: 5. Approval, legitimacy and court reform; Part III. Implications and Takeaways: 6. Backlash and incentives for policy reform; 7. Conclusion.