Replication data for: The Choices Justices Make

In Choices we argue that justices are strategic actors who realize that their ability to achieve their goals (primarily policy goals) depends on a consideration of the preferences of other actors, of the choices they expect others to make, and of the institutional context in which they act. We call this a strategic account of judicial decisions because the key ideas it contains are derived from the rational choice paradigm, on which strategic analysis is based and as it has been advanced by economists and political scientists working in other fields. To assess the plausibility of this account and to determine whether it provides us with any real leverage to understand judicial decisions, we develop a picture of justices as strategic seekers of legal policy and explore how justices so motivated go about making choices. After providing an overview of our argument in Chapter One, we unpack its three key components: Chapter Two documents the importance of policy goals; Chapter Three directs attention towards behavioral manifesta tions of strategic activity aimed at achieving policy ends, and Chapters Four and Five take up the institutions that structure such activity. Finally, in Chapter Six, we consider the implications of our argument, especially as they pertain to the development of law and to the articulation of future research programs on the Court. Most important, we argue, is that law—as it is generated by the Supreme Court—is the long-term product of short-term strategic decision making.在《Choices》一书中，我们主张，大法官均为策略性行动者（strategic actors），他们深知自身达成目标（主要为政策目标）的能力，取决于对其他行动者偏好、自身预判的他人决策，以及自身行动所处的制度语境的考量。我们将此称之为司法决策的策略性阐释，因其核心观点源自策略分析所依托的理性选择范式（rational choice paradigm）——该范式由经济学家与跨领域政治学者所发展完善。为评估该阐释的合理性，并确认其能否为我们理解司法决策提供切实的分析抓手，我们将大法官塑造为法律政策的策略性追求者，并探讨此类动机驱动下的大法官如何作出决策。在第一章对本文核心主张进行概述后，我们将拆解其三大核心组成部分：第二章阐明政策目标的重要性；第三章将研究焦点转向为达成政策目标而开展的策略性行动的行为表现；第四、第五章则论述构建此类行动的制度框架。最后，在第六章中，我们探讨本主张的理论意蕴，尤其关乎法律的发展以及联邦最高法院（Supreme Court）领域未来研究议程的构建。我们认为，最为关键的一点是：由联邦最高法院所生成的法律，实则是短期策略性决策的长期产物。