Judges’ personal attitudes systematically shape their case votes.

Evidence

Do judges’ personal attitudes influence the outcome of cases? Despite judges’ efforts to banish personal views from their decisions (see Box 8.3), many studies suggest that judges’ attitudes do affect their votes. What is particularly significant is that the judges’ votes often follow clear patterns, dividing along what might be considered liberal and conservative lines. The U.S. Supreme Court furnishes a prime example. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2579

Categorization

• XREF: Foundational to the attitudinal model literature (Segal and Spaeth) that the chapter almost certainly develops later. — connects to: Judge attractiveness bias measurably reduces real-world fines and bail amounts — Anthony G. Greenwald and Mahzarin R. Banaji, Implicit Social Cognition: Attitudes,…, 92; Empirical research shows juries usually agree with judges on verdicts. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 878