Amicus filers pursue policy, economic, and ideological interests, not litigant welfare.

Evidence

Typically, those who file amicus briefs are more interested in the constitutional issue raised by the case than in the fate of particular litigants. Some organizations file amicus briefs out of concern for the effects the Court’s decision might have on them or their members. Twenty-seven states, for example, submitted a brief in Miranda v. Arizona urging the Court not to get involved in setting standards for police interrogations. For other groups the concern is primarily ideological. Thus, the American Civil Liberties Union, a group committed to a broad interpretation of constitutional rights, also filed a brief in Miranda urging the Court to extend the rights of the accused. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1538

Categorization

• XREF: Miranda recurs across the course as the anchor case for rights of the accused and competing values of fairness versus order maintenance. — connects to: Amicus briefs serve strategic, ideological, and signaling purposes beyond litigant support — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 935; Lawyer-legislators acted as agents for organized interests, not mere occupational representatives. — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 4119; In group litigation lawyers serve the group’s interests, not the individual plaintiff’s — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1176 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• In group litigation lawyers serve the group’s interests, not the individual plaintiff’s #corroborates (1.00) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1176
• Tort reform functions partly as partisan class entrenchment, not policy neutrality #corroborates (0.95) — Daryl Levinson and Benjamin I. Sachs, Political Entrenchment and Public Law, 278
• Lawyer-legislators acted as agents for organized interests, not mere occupational representatives. #complicates (0.90) — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process, 4119
• U.S. policy responds to elites and interest groups, not the public. #complicates (0.85) — Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page, Testing Theories of American Politics, 93
• Courts frame policy issues in terms of legal rights, not costs and benefits #qualifies (0.80)