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The Prestige and Influence of Individual Judges on the U.S. Courts of Appeals

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  • Klein, David
  • Morrisroe, Darby

Abstract

Judicial scholars have often recognized that prestige seems to vary among judges, but they have not devoted much systematic attention to the phenomenon or its consequences. In this article, we develop a measure of prestige and calculate prestige scores for a sample of 139 federal circuit court judges. We then test the validity of our measure by determining how strongly the scores correlate with other variables, some of which are expected to be related to prestige, others of which should be unrelated. Finally, we incorporate our measure into an analysis of judicial influence, asking whether novel legal rules are more likely to be adopted by other circuits if announced by highly esteemed judges than if announced by less prestigious ones. The evidence suggests that our measure is valid and that prestige can translate into influence. Copyright 1999 by the University of Chicago.

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  • Klein, David & Morrisroe, Darby, 1999. "The Prestige and Influence of Individual Judges on the U.S. Courts of Appeals," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(2), pages 371-391, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlstud:v:28:y:1999:i:2:p:371-91
    DOI: 10.1086/468055
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    Cited by:

    1. Monika Stachowiak-Kudła & Janusz Kudła, 2023. "Measuring the prestige of administrative courts," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 3637-3662, August.
    2. Smyth, Russell & Bhattacharya, Mita, 2003. "How fast do old judges slow down?: A life cycle study of aging and productivity in the Federal Court of Australia," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 141-164, June.
    3. Kirchmaier, Thomas & Kollo, Michael G., 2006. "The role of prestige and networks in outside director appointment," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 24635, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Ryan C. Black & James F. Spriggs, 2013. "The Citation and Depreciation of U.S. Supreme Court Precedent," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(2), pages 325-358, June.
    5. Dimitrova-Grajzl Valentina & Grajzl Peter & Zajc Katarina & Sustersic Janez, 2012. "Judicial Incentives and Performance at Lower Courts: Evidence from Slovenian Judge-Level Data," Review of Law & Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 8(1), pages 215-252, August.
    6. John Szmer & Robert K. Christensen & Samuel Grubbs, 2020. "What influences the influence of U.S. Courts of Appeals decisions?," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 49(1), pages 55-81, February.
    7. John Szmer & Robert K. Christensen & Erin B. Kaheny, 2015. "Gender, Race, and Dissensus on State Supreme Courts," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 96(2), pages 553-575, June.
    8. Ramseyer, J. Mark, 2012. "Talent matters: Judicial productivity and speed in Japan," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 38-48.
    9. Berlemann, Michael & Christmann, Robin, 2017. "The Role of Precedents on Court Delay - Evidence from a civil law country," MPRA Paper 80057, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Alain Marciano & Giovanni Battista Ramello, 2017. "The judge, the academic and the public intellectual: the totemic scholarship of Richard A. Posner," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 389-392, June.
    11. David Gliksberg, 2014. "Does the Law Matter? Win Rates and Law Reforms," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(2), pages 378-407, June.
    12. Berlemann, Michael & Christmann, Robin, 2020. "Disposition time and the utilization of prior judicial decisions: Evidence from a civil law country," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    13. Stephen J. Choi & G. Mitu Gulati, 2008. "Bias in Judicial Citations: A Window into the Behavior of Judges?," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(1), pages 87-129, January.

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