Replication Data for: The Influence of Home State Reputation and Public Opinion on Federal Circuit Court Judges

At least four observationally equivalent theories argue federal judges follow public opinion when they decide cases. Yet, there is mixed empirical support for these theories. Using recently released data on public opinion, we discover that state public opinion exerts a meaningful impact on federal circuit court judges’ votes. Perhaps more important, we leverage a number of different empirical approaches to identify which theory the data support. The data suggest circuit court judges may change along with society but also that they follow public opinion because they care about their reputations in their home states.

至少有四种观测等价（observationally equivalent）理论主张，联邦法官在裁判案件时会遵循公众舆论。然而，针对这些理论的实证研究结果却存在分歧。借助最新公布的公众舆论数据，我们发现州级公众舆论会对联邦巡回法院法官的投票产生显著影响。或许更具意义的是，我们采用多种不同的实证研究方法，以甄别数据所支持的理论。数据表明，巡回法院法官既会随社会变迁调整自身立场，同时也会因在意其在本州的声誉而遵循公众舆论。