INFLUENCE OF POLITICAL COMPOSITION ON CIRCUIT COURT DECISIONS

Using a novel dataset of about 640,000 circuit court decisions from 1985 to 2020, I show that panel political composition is associated with cases outcomes in a vastly broader array of federal circuit court cases – representing together about 90% of all cases – than prior work has appreciated, In cases between parties that could be perceived to have unequal power, Democratic-nominated judges tend to have a “Pro-Weak” tendency to side with the seemingly weaker party. In cases without perceived power inequality, Democratic-nominated judges tend to have a “Less-Deference” tendency to be more willing to reverse lower court decision.