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Social Interactions and the Content of Legal Opinions

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  • Jordi Blanes i Vidal
  • Clare Leaver

Abstract

We explore the forces that determine rulings and citations within a court. Our model predicts: (1) that the presence of a social interaction between a judicial panel i and the authors of a prior judgement j increases the probability that i reaches the same decision as j and that i cites j as a persuasive authority and (2) that the presence of a political litigant in case i increases the probability that i cites j. Data from the English Court of Appeal confirm that an appeal panel i randomly assigned to work with the authors of a prior dismissal j are more likely to dismiss case i and cite the prior dismissal j as a persuasive authority than an appeal panel without such contact. These effects are stronger when panel i is more experienced and when all the authors of the prior judgement j face the prospect of promotion. The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Yale University. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Jordi Blanes i Vidal & Clare Leaver, 2013. "Social Interactions and the Content of Legal Opinions," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 29(1), pages 78-114, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jleorg:v:29:y:2013:i:1:p:78-114
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jleo/ews013
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    Cited by:

    1. Amaral-Garcia Sofia & dalla Pellegrina Lucia & Garoupa Nuno, 2023. "Consensus and Ideology in Courts: An Application to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 19(2), pages 151-184, July.
    2. Matej Avbelj & Janez Šušteršič, 2019. "Conceptual Framework and Empirical Methodology for Measuring Multidimensional Judicial Ideology," DANUBE: Law and Economics Review, European Association Comenius - EACO, issue 2, pages 129-159, June.

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