Motivated Reasoning in the Field: Polarization of Prose, Precedent, and Policy in U.S. Circuit Courts, 1891-2013

27 Pages Posted: 29 Jun 2018 Last revised: 20 Feb 2024

See all articles by Wei Lu

Wei Lu

Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College - The City University of New York

Daniel L. Chen

Directeur de Recherche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Toulouse School of Economics, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, University of Toulouse Capitole, Toulouse, France

Date Written: February 20, 2024

Abstract

This study explores politically motivated reasoning among U.S. Circuit Court judges over the past 120 years, examining their writing style and use of previous case citations in judicial opinions. Employing natural language processing and supervised machine learning, we scrutinize how judges' language choices and legal citations reflect partisan slant. Our findings reveal a consistent, albeit modest, polarization in citation practices. More notably, there's a significant increase in polarization within the textual content of opinions, indicating a stronger presence of motivated reasoning in their prose. We also examine the impact of heightened scrutiny on judicial reasoning. On divided panels, judges show a decrease in polarization in both writing and citation practices. Furthermore, our study explores polarization dynamics among judges who are potential candidates for Supreme Court promotion. We observe that judges on the shortlist for Supreme Court vacancies demonstrate greater polarization in their selection of precedents.

Keywords: motivated reasoning, judicial behavior, machine learning

Suggested Citation

Lu, Wei and Chen, Daniel L., Motivated Reasoning in the Field: Polarization of Prose, Precedent, and Policy in U.S. Circuit Courts, 1891-2013 (February 20, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3205116 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3205116

Wei Lu (Contact Author)

Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College - The City University of New York ( email )

55 Lexington Ave., Box B13-260
New York, NY 10010
United States

Daniel L. Chen

Directeur de Recherche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Toulouse School of Economics, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, University of Toulouse Capitole, Toulouse, France ( email )

Toulouse School of Economics
1, Esplanade de l'Université
Toulouse, 31080
France

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
28
Abstract Views
665
PlumX Metrics