Page 1 |
Save page Remove page | Previous | 1 of 232 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
Subset |
DEATH AND POLITICS IN THE
UNITED STATES COURTS OF APPEALS
by
Arthur H. Auerbach
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(POLITICAL SCIENCE)
May 2007
Copyright 2007 Arthur H. Auerbach
Object Description
| Title | Death and politics in the United States Courts of Appeals |
| Author | Auerbach, Arthur H. |
| Author email | aauerbac@usc.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Science |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2007-02-14 |
| Date submitted | 2007 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2007-04-20 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Gillman, Howard |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Barnes, John "Jeb" Yackee, Susan Webb |
| Abstract | Political scientists have long suggested that the Supreme Court is affected by both legal and extra-legal variables. This quandary has spread beyond the Supreme Court as the high court is only able to address a small fraction of the cases that are presented to it each year. For this reason, political scientists have begun to scrutinize the decision making of the United States Courts of Appeals as the true court of last resort. Some in the political science community suggest the law itself is the primary motivator for judicial decisions while others argue that judges base their decisions on their own personal policy preferences. Institutionalists believe the institutional structure of the courts itself drives decision making whereas some see the hierarchical structure of the courts as impacting intermediate appellate decisions. A clear consensus among political scientists has yet to be achieved.; The goal of this study is to gain a better understanding of circuit court decision making on capital punishment cases through the use of various quantitative methods. The four models noted above will be examined by looking at capital punishment cases decided in the United States Courts of Appeals from 1980 to 2004 which are derived from the Sixth, Fifth, Fourth, and Ninth Circuits, respectively representing the northern, southern, eastern and western regions of the United States. A logistic regression analysis was conducted that incorporated variables from the various models of judicial decision making. Several alternative forms of analysis were also conducted to shed further light on the research question. Institutional influences were examined by looking at the impact of the ideological composition of circuit panels. The hierarchical model was tested by comparing decisional trends of the Supreme Court and circuit courts. Time series analysis was utilized to examine the hierarchical and legal models and determine whether signals from the Supreme Court and Congress impact circuit court decision making. In the end, this study offers a greater understanding of judicial decision making at the circuit court level on the highly controversial issue of capital punishment. |
| Keyword | judicial decision making; judicial politics; United States Courts of Appeals |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m429 |
| Rights | Auerbach, Arthur H. |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | http://www.usc.edu/isd/libraries/services/ask_a_librarian/email/ |
| Filename | etd-Auerbach-20070420 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume23/etd-Auerbach-20070420.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Full text | DEATH AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES COURTS OF APPEALS by Arthur H. Auerbach A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (POLITICAL SCIENCE) May 2007 Copyright 2007 Arthur H. Auerbach |
Comments
Post a Comment for Page 1
