Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2023
Department
Political Science
Abstract
In this letter, we assess whether the contributions of judges from underrepresented groups are undervalued or overlooked, thereby reducing these judges’ influence on legal policy. Drawing on an original dataset of discretionary citations to over 2,000 published federal appellate decisions, we find that the majority of opinions written by female judges receive less attention from other courts than those by similarly situated men and that this is largely attributable to disparities in citing Black women and Latinas. We also find that additional efforts by Black and Latinx judges to ground their opinions in precedent yield a much lower rate of return in subsequent citations by outside circuits than comparable work by white men and women judges. This suggests that, despite gains in diversification in the federal judiciary, stereotypes about social identities will play a powerful role in determining whose ideas receive recognition.
Original Publication Information
SZMER J, MOYER LP, HAIRE SB, CHRISTENSEN RK. Who Shapes the Law? Gender and Racial Bias in Judicial Citations. American Political Science Review. Published online 2023:1-8. doi:10.1017/S0003055423000801
ThinkIR Citation
Moyer, Laura P.; Szmer, John J.; Haire, Susan B.; and Christenson, Robert K., ""Who shapes the law? Gender and racial bias in judicial citations."" (2023). Faculty Scholarship. 935.
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/faculty/935
DOI
10.1017/S0003055423000801
ORCID
0000-0002-5802-801X
