Supreme Court Authority in the Judiciary

Abstract

In the relationship between the Supreme Court and lower courts, one important issue is the extent to which lower court judges recognize and respond to the Supreme Court's authority. This article explores the Court's authority through a study of cases remanded by the Court during the 1965-1974 terms. We examine the relationship between the outcomes of cases in the lower courts after Supreme Court remands and several conditions that seem likely to affect the strength of the Court's authority. The statistical results indicate that most of these conditions have a significant impact on outcomes. More broadly, these results provide evidence that the Court's authority is a significant force in shaping the behavior of judges in the lower courts.