Doctoral Dissertation Research on the U.S. Supreme Court's Selection of Petitions In Forma Pauperis

Ohio State University Research Foundation -Do Not Use, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

This project involves statistical analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court's selection of both paid and unpaid petitions for review. The goal of the study is to determine whether, in what ways, and to what extent the Court's selection of unpaid cases differs from its selection of paid cases. Numerous empirical studies have considered which case characteristics increase the likelihood that the Supreme Court will select a petition for review, and scholars have used the results of those studies to reach conclusions about the Court's decision making process and bases for decision in selecting cases for full review. Those studies, however, have limited their analysis to paid petitions, to the exclusion of those petitions filed by indigent litigants, the petitions in forma pauperis or IFP petitions. Examining whether the same case characteristics have the same influence on the probability of accepting unpaid petitions illuminates the Court's decision making process and criteria for selection, and thus adds significantly to the wealth of scholarship on the Supreme Court's agenda-setting function. The study also explores the accessibility of the Court to the poor and the Court's attention to issues affecting low- income people, issues with important normative implications. In addition to expanding upon the scholarship on political decision making, the Court's agenda-setting function, and equal access to the Court, this study involves the creation of a dataset from primary sources, containing information on the IFP docket.