vi Contents 2 Judicial Elections to State Courts 47 Q9. Have contested judicial elections become more political over recent decades? 48 Q10. Are nonpartisan judicial elections less political than partisan judicial elections? 56 Q11. Has politicization of judicial retention elections increased? 62 Q12. Does the growth of campaign spending by interest groups affect judicial independence? 68 Q13. Do politicized judicial elections threaten the legitimacy of state courts? 74 3 Structures Affecting the Courts 85 Q14. Has Congress or the president ever sought to adjust the size of the Supreme Court for political gain? 85 Q15. Can Congress strip the Supreme Court and lower federal courts of their jurisdiction? 92 Q16. Would term limits make the Supreme Court less politicized? 101 Q17. Was the end of the filibuster in federal judicial confirmations a historic rule change? 108 Q18. Is the end of the filibuster in federal judicial confirmations likely to increase polarization on the federal courts? 115 4 Decisions and Decision Making 121 Q19. Are Supreme Court justices influenced by public opinion? 121 Q20. Do judges’ political attitudes and ideologies influence their legal decisions? 128 Q21. Did the Supreme Court’s “switch in time that saved nine” occur in direct response to external political pressure? 137 Q22. Is the influence of amicus briefs on the Supreme Court growing? 141 Q23. Is the Supreme Court using the “shadow docket” more frequently? 148 5 Public Perceptions of the Judiciary 155 Q24. Is public faith and confidence in the Supreme Court in decline? 155
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