Part One. Thinking about the Supreme Court: Introductory Material
(January 25)

1. Introduction to the Supreme Court

1. Procedures and Processes
2. Thumbnail Sketch of the Court: Its History and Current Status
   

2. Introduction to the Course

1. Reading Social Science Work
2. Your Paper Assignment
   

Part Two. Getting On and Off the Court (February 1)

1. The Appointment Process

1. Retirements from the Court
2. Explaining the Nomination and Confirmation of Supreme Court Justices
3. Presidential Legacies?

Assignment:

• Epstein and Segal, Advice and Consent (read the entire book)

Part Three. The U.S. Supreme Court Database (February 8)

This session will be a lab on how to use the U.S. Supreme Court Database. To prepare for the lab, you should take a look at the documentation to the database. (Click here; then click the Documentation link under The Original U.S. Supreme Court Judicial Database.) You also should read this paper, " Becoming an Intelligent User of the Spaeth Databases."

(A description of your research problem is due on February 15)

Part Four. Getting into the Court (February 15)

1. The Problem: Access to the Court

1. A Look at the Process
2. The Importance of Access: Caseload and Agenda-Setting

2. Explaining Gatekeeping Decisions

Assignment:

• Segal and Spaeth, The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited, Chapter 6

Part Five. Legal and Attitudinal Accounts of Court Decisions (February 22, March 1, March 8)

1. An Introduction to Decision Making

1. Studying Decision Making: The Evolution of the Field of Study
2. Overview of the Key Controversies

Assignment:

• Segal and Spaeth, The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited, pp. 44-48
  

2. "Legal" Models

1. The Model
2. The Role of Facts and Precedent
   

Assignment:

• Segal and Spaeth, The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited, Chapters 2 and 7

3. The Attitudinal Model

1. The Model
2. Debates over the Model
   

4. The Strategic Account

(An outline of your paper is due on March 22)

Part Six. Putting the Accounts to Work (March 22, March 29)

1. The Internal Context of Judging

1. Leadership and Opinion Assignment
2. Vote Fluidity
3. Opinion Coalition Formation

Assignment:

• Segal and Spaeth, The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited, Chapter 9

2. The External Context of Judging

Assignments:

• Epstein and Knight, The Choices Justices Make, Chapter 5
• Segal and Spaeth, The Supreme Court and the Attitudinal Model Revisited, pp. 97-110, 326-349
  

Part Seven. Interest Groups Attorneys, and the Public
(April 5, April 12)

1. Interest Groups and Attorneys

Assignment:

• Linda Greenhouse, What Got into the Court? (Click on the title for the paper.)

2. Public Opinion

Assignment:

• James Gibson, et al. 2004. The Supreme Court and the Presidential Election of 2000 (Click on the title for the paper.)
  

Part Eight. The Impact of the Court (April 19)

Assignment: