The Influence of the President on Solicitor General Success in United States Supreme Court Decisions
Open Access
- Author:
- Wilusz, Stephanie Rae
- Area of Honors:
- Political Science
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Michael J Nelson, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Gretchen G Casper, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Solicitor General
United States Supreme Court
Presidential Influence - Abstract:
- As an important actor in the United States Supreme Court, scholars have long known that the Solicitor General has an important influence on the Supreme Court’s decision making process. However, despite many previous studies, the reasons for why the Office of the Solicitor General is so successful before the Court and how this success varies has remained largely unknown. This research contributes to this knowledge by studying how the success rates of the Solicitor General vary across different presidential administrations. By applying established theories of presidential power to all Supreme Court cases heard during the 1979 to 2007 terms, the research examines a factor of Solicitor General success otherwise ignored in the literature: whether the Court is more likely to give deference to the Office of the Solicitor General when the presidential administration is more powerful or vested in a particular case. These findings contribute to the literature by focusing on the variance in the success rates of the Solicitor General. By studying whether the Court is more likely to defer to the Solicitor General as an extension of the executive branch, when the president is more powerful or interested in a case, this research can also contribute to the literature on the separation of powers and if the Supreme Court is influenced by public opinion. The findings suggest that the Court is more likely to defer to the Solicitor General’s preferences during times of war when the president is more powerful, and also when the issue of the case is of particular importance to the current presidential administration.