Patterns and Consequences of Judicial Reversals: Theoretical Considerations and Data from a District Court

Abstract

An important but mainly unexamined topic for understanding court systems is the effect of reversals on the decision making of lower-court judges. Specifically, we do not know whether lower-court judges alter their patterns of decision making in response to reversals by higher courts. This question is important, as reversal is an important tool that higher courts can use to induce lower courts to implement legal policy. The assumption that lower-court judges learn from and respond to reversals is an important factor in the theoretical cohesiveness of the American court system. Using the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as the basis for a study, I find support for the notion that judges react to reversals by changing their decision-making patterns in predictable ways.