Keeping up Appearances: Non-Policy Court Responses to Public Opinion

Existing studies of Supreme Court behavior largely have focused on the Court's policy responses to non-judicial institutions. Recognizing the Court's need to maintain its institutional legitimacy, we examine whether Supreme Court justices respond to public opinion in a non-policy setting: the State of the Union address. We find that public confidence in the Supreme Court has an effect on justices' decisions to attend the address, but that ideological factors play less of a role. These findings suggest that Supreme Court justices respond to public pressure in ways beyond their role as arbiters of legal questions on the bench.