7: Judicial Hierarchy and Organization

Judicial systems typically resemble pyramids: courts at each layer of the hierarchy are subject to oversight by courts in the layer above, except for the courts at the apex of the pyramid. This week we discuss the differences between higher and lower courts and the impact of judicial hierarchy on decision-making.

Mandatory readings

Carrubba, Clifford J., and Tom S. Clark. “Rule creation in a political hierarchy.” American Political Science Review 106, no. 3 (2012): 622-643.

Optional readings

Beim, Deborah. “Learning in the judicial hierarchy.” The Journal of Politics 79, no. 2 (2017): 591-604.

Zorn, Christopher, and Jennifer Barnes Bowie. “Ideological influences on decision making in the federal judicial hierarchy: An empirical assessment.” The Journal of Politics 72, no. 4 (2010): 1212-1221.

Scott, Kevin M. “Understanding judicial hierarchy: Reversals and the behavior of intermediate appellate judges.” Law & Society Review 40, no. 1 (2006): 163-192.

Fjelstul, Joshua C. “How the Chamber System at the CJEU Undermines the Consistency of the Court’s Application of EU Law.” Journal of Law and Courts 11, no. 1 (2023): 141-162.

Posner, Richard A. “An economic approach to legal procedure and judicial administration.” The Journal of Legal Studies 2, no. 2 (1973): 399-458.

Lax, Jeffrey R. “Constructing legal rules on appellate courts.” American Political Science Review 101, no. 3 (2007): 591-604.

Kastellec, Jonathan P. “Racial diversity and judicial influence on appellate courts.” American Journal of Political Science 57, no. 1 (2013): 167-183.

Masood, Ali S., Benjamin J. Kassow, and Donald R. Songer. “Supreme Court precedent in a judicial hierarchy.” American Politics Research 45, no. 3 (2017): 403-434.

Songer, D. R., Segal, J. A., & Cameron, C. M. (1994). The hierarchy of justice: Testing a principal-agent model of Supreme Court-circuit court interactions. American Journal of Political Science, 673-696.

Lax, Jeffrey R. “Political constraints on legal doctrine: How hierarchy shapes the law.” The Journal of Politics 74, no. 3 (2012): 765-781.

Pavone, Tommaso. “Revisiting judicial empowerment in the European Union: Limits of empowerment, logics of resistance.” Journal of Law and Courts 6, no. 2 (2018): 303-331.