Oral Arguments and Decision Making on the United States Supreme Court (SUNY Series in American Constitutionalism)

How oral arguments influence the decisions of Supreme Court justices.

Timothy R. Johnson focuses on an all-too-often ignored aspect of the Supreme Court’s decision-making process by providing a systematic explanation of how justices use oral arguments to make substantive legal and policy decisions. Using the arguments filed to the Court in legal briefs, oral argument transcripts, notes taken by Justice Lewis F. Powell during oral arguments, conference notes and internal memos of justices, and Court opinions, the book analyzes justices’ behavior during these proceedings. The result is an impressive account demonstrating that justices use oral arguments to gather information regarding legal and policy options in a case, the preferences of competing political institutions and actors, and institutional rules that might affect the choices they make.