ABSTRACT
This book examines the role that the modern Supreme Court plays in American politics. I want to understand how the Supreme Court makes its decisions and what influences those decisions. On the one hand, I can simply examine the process. The Supreme Court gets 10,000 petitions and accepts fewer than a hundred cases in recent terms. Justices hear oral arguments, deliberate, and collectively decide who wins and who loses and why. But that information only takes us so far. Rather, I want to understand what factors influence the Supreme Court when it makes its decisions. Is the Court free to make whatever choices a majority of its members want, or are there constraints that limit its options?
