Looking for Law in All the Wrong Places? Foreign Law and Support for the U.S. Supreme Court

Brett W. Curry, Georgia Southern University
Banks Miller, University of Texas at Dallas

Copyright and Open Access: http://sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/1555-5623/

Abstract

References to foreign legal judgments in several recent Supreme Court decisions have given rise to substantial legal and political controversy. While those debates have largely focused on normative matters, we utilize an experimental design that presents media portrayals of Court decisions to assess the possible implications of this issue for the Court and its legitimacy with the public. Our results suggest that, should the Court continue to utilize this practice, it could result in some erosion of public support for the Court as an institution. Further, we find that this effect has the potential to be particularly powerful in structuring the opinions of citizens who are less knowledgeable about government and the Court.