Interest Groups in Court: Do Interest Groups Fare Better?

Published in 1986. In Interest Group Politics, ed. Allen Cigler and Burdett Loomis. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press.

Lee Epstein
C.K. Rowland

In this chapter Lee Epstein and C.K. Rowland examine whether group sponsorship of litigation makes much difference in obtaining policy victories within the federal judicial system.  Although litigation by interest groups, either on behalf of an individual or on its own, has increased substantially since the 1960s, the question of impact remains difficult to answer.  Indeed, as the authors note, even addressing the question of group impact requires data that are difficult to collect and analyze.  Nevertheless, their initial research efforts lead them to conclude that group intervention does make a difference.  To the extent that we have become a society of litigants, the resources and expertise of interest groups can play a major role in shaping the decisions reached and policies imposed by the court system.

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