Premium
Gender, Race, and Dissensus on State Supreme Courts *
Author(s) -
Szmer John,
Christensen Robert K.,
Kaheny Erin B.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/ssqu.12133
Subject(s) - dissent , dissenting opinion , race (biology) , intersectionality , state (computer science) , supreme court , population , political science , law , sociology , gender studies , demography , politics , algorithm , computer science
Objectives The objectives of this study were to integrate multiple streams of research on judicial dissensus to better understand the causes of state court of last resort justices’ decisions to dissent. The study particularly focused on the relationship between dissent and gender and race (and their intersection) at the individual and panel level. Methods We employed probit regression with clustered standard errors of the population of state court of last resort cases from 1995 to 1998. Results Women and minorities were more likely to dissent in cases involving issues that are particularly salient to those particular groups. We also find evidence of the intersectionality of race and gender: while white women and African‐American males were less likely to dissent than white males, African‐American women were the most likely to cast dissenting votes. Conclusions Our results suggest that, in addition to small‐group (panel) and institutional characteristics, individual attributes such as race and gender (and their intersection) matter in the decision to dissent.