Framing the issues in oral argument gives the chief justice a leadership advantage.

Evidence

If the chief justice is also the intellectual leader of the Court, then his power to frame the issues—and thereby direct the course of debate—can give him some advantage. An associate justice also may exhibit the intellectual acuity and force of personality necessary for leadership on the Court, as Justice William Brennan did during the 1960s and 1970s. … Intellectual leadership on the Court is most likely to manifest itself in the opinions written by the justices. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1564

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the course theme that legal actors shape doctrine through interpretation, not just voting. — connects to: Oral argument functions as sustained judicial questioning that tests an attorney’s legal position — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1550; Oral argument functions as the justices’ focused interrogation, not a set speech — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1550; Repeated declarative assertions accumulate authority for the speaker. (+1 more)
• DEFINE: Illustrates what ‘intellectual leadership’ on a multimember court actually consists of.

Broader Connections

• Repeated declarative assertions accumulate authority for the speaker. #corroborates (1.00)
• Oral argument functions as sustained judicial questioning that tests an attorney’s legal position #complicates (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1550
• Oral argument functions as the justices’ focused interrogation, not a set speech #complicates (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1550
• Hall’s public rhetoric could crystallize a debate’s key issues on the spot. #qualifies (0.85)