Courting Constituents? An Analysis of the Senate Confirmation Vote on Justice Clarence Thomas

1992 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 997-1003 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Marvin Overby ◽  
Beth M. Henschen ◽  
Michael H. Walsh ◽  
Julie Strauss
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Regression Model ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Roll Call ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Logistical Regression ◽  
Constituency Size ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

The increasing public attention paid to Supreme Court nominations has elevated the salience of Senate confirmation battles, raising interesting questions about the impact of constituency preferences on senators' voting behavior. In this article, we explore this relationship using a logistical regression model to examine the impacts of African-American constituency size and the proximity of reelection on the roll call behavior of senators on the Clarence Thomas confirmation vote. Our analyses indicate that these factors were both statistically and substantively significant in the Thomas case. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of such findings.

Military Experience and Elite Decision-Making: Self-Selection, Socialization, and the Vietnam Draft Lottery

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle L Lupton
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Roll Call ◽  
Military Experience ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
Draft Lottery ◽  
Vietnam Draft ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Scholars across international relations (IR) debate the role military experience plays in elite decision-making. I argue there are two critical problems with this debate. First, it fails to adequately consider the underlying mechanisms linking military service to elite policy preferences. Second, it narrowly focuses on the use of force and largely ignores other ways in which military experience may shape elite behavior. I employ vulnerability to the Vietnam draft lottery to disentangle the impact of two key mechanisms linking military service to elite preferences: self-selection and socialization. I compare the foreign and defense policy roll call votes of Members of Congress (MCs) in the House of Representatives across the 94th–113th Congresses who were eligible for the draft and served in the military to those who were eligible for the draft but did not serve. I find significant differences in the roll call voting behavior between these groups, particularly on issues associated with arming and defense budget restrictions, as well as broader oversight of the military. These effects are heightened for MCs who served on active duty, in the military longer, and in combat, providing strong support for socialization effects. My study carries implications for civil–military relations, elite decision-making, and the study of leaders in IR.

The Role of Personal Attributes in African American Roll-Call Voting Behavior in Congress

2008 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 408-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Rocca ◽  
Gabriel R. Sanchez ◽  
Ron Nikora
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Personal Attributes ◽  
Roll Call ◽  
Roll Call Voting

Black Federal Judges and Civil Rights in the Age of Obama

2021 ◽  
pp. 201-221
Author(s):  
Shenita Brazelton ◽  
Dianne M. Pinderhughes
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Federal Courts ◽  
President Obama ◽  
Federal Judiciary ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Federal Judges ◽  
The Impact

We examine the demographics of the federal judiciary and the impact President Obama had on diversifying the federal bench. We discuss the record-breaking number of women and minorities Obama appointed to federal courts at all levels. Considering the historic and current struggles of African Americans in attaining civil rights, we focus our discussion on the appointment of Black federal judges. We highlight the historic firsts for African American appointees and the continuing need for Black federal judges, particularly in the South. We also discuss the inclusionary dilemma in the context of President Obama’s selections for staffing the federal judiciary. We discuss Obama’s decision not to appoint a third African American justice to the Supreme Court, but we examine his record-breaking number of African American appointments to the lower federal courts. Despite these historic appointments, President Obama’s appointment power was not unfettered. In the end, we assess the impact of Obama’s appointees in view of voting rights litigation. Voting rights are particularly pertinent for racial minorities who have been historically denied these rights but have made gains in electing minorities to public office. In the conclusion, we discuss the racial implications of the Trump administration’s attempts to reverse Obama’s judicial legacy.

The Garcetti Effect and the Erosion of Free Speech Rights of K–12 Public Education Employees: Trends and Implications

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Lewis M. Wasserman ◽  
John P. Connolly
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Free Speech ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Courts Of Appeals ◽  
Public Employees ◽  
Legal Precedent ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Free Speech Rights ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The U.S

Background/Context Pickering v. Board of Education, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1968, is considered the high-water mark in the constitutional protection of public employee free speech. Two significant decisions issued by that Court since Pickering have limited public employees’ expressive rights: Connick v. Myers and Garcetti v. Ceballos. Purpose/Objective The principal research questions which were the focus of this study are: is the adverse effect on free speech presumed by legal analysts following Connick and Garcetti having real effects in terms of judicial voting behavior and, if so, how has this occurred? Research Design We set up legal precedent and the judge's ideology as predictors of judicial voting behavior. The legal precedent variable delineates three intervals, namely the Pickering era [1968–1983], the Connick era [1983–2006) and the Garcetti era [2006–2014]. Two different measures of ideology are considered: party affiliation and the judge's DW-NOMINATE score. The dependent variable is the judge's individual vote in each case. Votes are categorized as pro-employer or pro-employee. Data Collection and Analysis Because our interest is specific to K–12 settings we analyze 507 judicial votes drawn from the 169 U.S. Courts of Appeals employer-employee free speech cases brought by school employees between the issuance of Pickering in 1968 and the post-Garcetti period into 2014. Since our dependent variable is dichotomous the statistical estimates are obtained via logistic regression. Conclusions/Recommendations We find that employee-plaintiffs are prevailing at lower rates at the U.S. Courts of Appeals in free speech claims against public school districts following the Garcetti decision. Since Garcetti, Courts of Appeals judges—those appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents—have voted in an increasingly pro-employer direction. We contend this results from “doctrinal signaling,” here, the progressive curtailment in the Supreme Court of public employees’ free speech rights from Connick v. Myers in 1983 to Garcetti. We suggest this “signaling” is used by Courts of Appeals judges as an interpretive tool to give meaning to apparently ambiguous decisions such as Garcetti. Finally, the impact and implications of this negative trend for K–12 employees, as well as possible solutions, are considered.

Rent review: dark art or rainy sky?

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-190
Author(s):  
Malcolm John Dowden
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Court Ruling ◽  
Supreme Court Ruling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Charge ◽  
Uk Supreme Court ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact on rent review clauses of a recent UK Supreme Court ruling on the interpretation and application of contractual provisions. Although the ruling in Arnold v. Britton (2015) UKSC 36 concerned service charge provisions, the court’s approach has significant implications for rent reviews where a fixed or indexed increase is intended. Design/methodology/approach – Review of the Supreme Court’s approach and findings in a case concerning clauses that provided for fixed percentage increases in long leases. Findings – It is no part of the court’s function, through the process of contractual interpretation, to rescue a party from a bad bargain. Research limitations/implications – Supreme Court ruling in Arnold v. Britton was considered in the context of recent rulings on rent review clauses. Practical implications – When drafting for a fixed or stepped increase at rent review, parties must ensure that any formulae or other provisions governing calculation produce results that are fair and in line with the parties’ actual intentions. The court will not use the process of contractual interpretation to rescue a party from a bad bargain, and will not intervene to override clear wording. Although the court has power to decide in favour of commercial common sense where a clause is ambiguous or unclear, there is a limit to the “red ink” that the court can apply, and no room for remedial interpretation where a clause is clear. Social implications – Where contract provisions are clear it is not open to the court to intervene, by means of contractual interpretation, to protect or to rescue a party who has been disadvantaged, however seriously, if the clause is clear. Where such cases arise in a contract covered by English law, or in similar common law jurisdictions, any protection must be found in statute. Originality/value – Practitioner’s review and comments on recent Supreme Court authority.

285: The Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Prostate Cancer Outcomes in a Large Series of African-American Patients

2007 ◽  
Vol 177 (4S) ◽  
pp. 95-95
Author(s):  
Atreya Dash ◽  
Peng Lee ◽  
Qin Zhou ◽  
Aaron D. Berger ◽  
Jerome Jean-Gilles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
African American ◽  
Socioeconomic Factors ◽  
Large Series ◽  
Cancer Outcomes ◽  
The Impact

Information and Communication Technology and Cultural Change

2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Hansen ◽  
Tom Postmes ◽  
Nikita van der Vinne ◽  
Wendy van Thiel
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Self Construal ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ict For Development ◽  
Practical Implications

This paper studies whether and how information and communication technology (ICT) changes self-construal and cultural values in a developing country. Ethiopian children were given laptops in the context of an ICT for development scheme. We compared children who used laptops (n = 69) with a control group without laptops (n = 76) and a second control group of children whose laptop had broken down (n = 24). Results confirmed that after 1 year of laptop usage, the children’s self-concept had become more independent and children endorsed individualist values more strongly. Interestingly, the impact of laptop usage on cultural values was mediated by self-construal (moderated mediation). Importantly, modernization did not “crowd out” traditional culture: ICT usage was not associated with a reduction in traditional expressions (interdependent self-construal, collectivist values). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Ease of Doing Business and Its Impact on Inward FDI

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Tareq Hossain ◽  
Zubair Hassan ◽  
Sumaiya Shafiq ◽  
Abdul Basit
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Causal Relationship ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
Least Square Regression ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
Ease Of Doing Business ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Starting A Business

This study investigates the impact of Ease of Doing Business on Inward FDI over the period from 2011 to 2015 across the globe. This study measures ease of doing business using starting a business, getting credit, registering property, paying taxes and enforcing contracts. The research used a sample of 177 countries from 190 countries listed in World Bank. Least square regression model via E-views software used to examine causal relationship. The study found that ease of doing business indicators ‘Enforcing Contracts’ was found to have a positive significant impact on Inward FDI. Nevertheless, ‘Getting Credit’ and ‘Registering Property’ were found to have a negative significant impact on Inward FDI. However, ‘Starting a Business’ and ‘Paying Taxes’ have no significant impact on Inward FDI in the studied timeframe of this research. The findings of the study suggested the ease of doing business enables inward FDI through better contract enforcements, getting credit and registering property. The findings of the research will assist international managers and companies to know the importance of ease of doing business when investing in foreign countries through FDI.

Income Diversification and Bank Efficiency in Vietnam

2017 ◽  
pp. 52-67
Author(s):  
Sang Nguyen Minh
Keyword(s):  
Regression Model ◽  
Commercial Banks ◽  
Banking System ◽  
Operational Efficiency ◽  
Commercial Banking ◽  
Tobit Regression ◽  
Income Diversification ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Study Results ◽  
The Impact

This study uses the DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) method to estimate the technical efficiency index of 34 Vietnamese commercial banks in the period 2007-2015, and then it analyzes the impact of income diversification on the operational efficiency of Vietnamese commercial banks through a censored regression model - the Tobit regression model. Research results indicate that income diversification has positive effects on the operational efficiency of Vietnamese commercial banks in the research period. Based on study results, in this research some recommendations forpolicy are given to enhance the operational efficiency of Vietnam’s commercial banking system.

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