Divided Government as a Moderating Influence on the Voting Behavior of Supreme Court Justices.

Scholars of American politics have long been interested in the effects of divided party government on politics and policy. However, very little research has been devoted to examining the effects of divided government on Supreme Court decision making. Richardson and Scheb (1993) found that justices who are nominated and confirmed during periods of divided-party government cast more moderate votes than those appointed during periods of unified-party government. In this paper we re-examine this finding using a larger population of Supreme Court justices. We also attempt to refine their analysis by controlling for a variety of other factors. Despite these controls, we find that justices appointed under divided government tend to behave more moderately than do justices appointed during periods of unified government. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]