Intermediate appellate courts shift state supreme courts toward policy leadership.

Evidence

Another structural reform, adopted in response to increases in the number of appeals filed in state courts, has been the establishment of intermediate courts of appeals. By itself, this structural change does not solve caseload problems. Appeals tend to increase following the establishment of an intermediate court of appeals; so with appeals from that court to the state supreme court, filings in the supreme court may soon approximate earlier levels. When this reform is combined with a limitation on the right to a second appeal, however, it can substantially reduce the caseloads of state supreme courts. Equally important is the effect of the reform on the types of cases coming before the state supreme court and on the role that the court plays in the state. By diverting routine cases to intermediate appellate courts, a state allows its supreme court to devote more attention to cases that raise important policy questions and to assume a position of leadership in the legal development of the state. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 343

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to the course’s focus on judges as policymakers; connects to later discussion of discretionary review and certiorari. — connects to: Court structure shapes which policy issues a supreme court can address. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 441; Lower court judges shaped by local politics can blunt a Supreme Court mandate. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1545; Courts change policy through five distinct incremental mechanisms rather than just landmark rulings — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3171 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Court structure shapes which policy issues a supreme court can address. #expands (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 441
• State supreme courts respond to policy incapacity by setting agendas rather than writing policy. #qualifies (0.78) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3313
• Lower court judges shaped by local politics can blunt a Supreme Court mandate. #complicates (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1545
• Courts change policy through five distinct incremental mechanisms rather than just landmark rulings #expands (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3171