Replication Data for: The Aggregate Dynamics of Lower Court Responses to the U.S. Supreme Court

We offer a theory in which the U.S. Supreme Court drives aggregate responses to its decisions by signaling the utility of its precedents to the lower courts. Specifically, we theorize that lower court judges have a greater propensity to rely on a Supreme Court precedent when it is reinforced by one or more summary decisions. Our results demonstrate that the presence of summary decisions significantly increases the frequency with which the lower courts cite and follow the precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court. We corroborate the causality of these linkages through qualitative analyses, distance matching methods, and simultaneous sensitivity analysis.

本研究提出一项理论框架，认为美国最高法院（U.S. Supreme Court）可通过向下级法院彰显其判例的效用，引导下级法院对其裁判形成整体性回应。具体而言，本研究构建的理论指出：若某项最高法院判例获得一项或多项即决裁决（summary decisions）的补强，则下级法院法官援引该判例的倾向会显著提升。研究结果显示，即决裁决的存在可显著提升下级法院援引并遵循美国最高法院判例的频次。本研究通过质性分析、距离匹配法以及同步敏感性分析，验证了上述关联的因果关系。