Abstract

  


 



Inquiring Minds Want to Know: Do Justices Tip Their Hands with Questions at Oral Argument in the U.S. Supreme Court?


Timothy R. Johnson


University of Minnesota

Ryan C. Black


Michigan State University - Department of Political Science

Jerry Goldman


affiliation not provided to SSRN

Sarah Treul


affiliation not provided to SSRN
April 6, 2009

Washington University Journal of Law & Policy, Vol. 29, 2009

Abstract:     
This paper tests whether Supreme Court justices tip their hands at oral arguments. Specifically, we test whether, when justices ask more questions of one side, that side is more likely to lose their case. The findings support the theory; namely, when justices ask more questions of the petitioner's attorney the Court is significantly less likely to reverse the lower court decision.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 51

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Date posted: April 10, 2009 ; Last revised: May 21, 2009

Suggested Citation

Johnson, Timothy R., Black, Ryan C., Goldman, Jerry and Treul, Sarah, Inquiring Minds Want to Know: Do Justices Tip Their Hands with Questions at Oral Argument in the U.S. Supreme Court? (April 6, 2009). Washington University Journal of Law & Policy, Vol. 29, 2009. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1373965

Contact Information

Timothy R. Johnson (Contact Author)
University of Minnesota ( email )
Department of Political Science
1414 Social Sciences, 267 19th Ave S.
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0410
United States
Ryan C. Black
Michigan State University - Department of Political Science ( email )
East Lansing, MI 48824
United States
HOME PAGE: http://ryancblack.org
Jerry Goldman
affiliation not provided to SSRN
Sarah Treul
affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )
Feedback to SSRN (Beta)


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