Of Time And Judicial Behavior: United States Supreme Court Agenda Setting and Decision-Making, 1888-1997

This study examines the agenda setting and decision making behavior of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1888 to 1997. The study finds that economics decisions dominated the Court’s docket up until the 1950s, when civil liberties cases became more prominent, and judicial power decisions remained relatively constant. Proxies of the justices’ attitudes are related in the long run to all three decisional areas.