The Supreme Court Database

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <title>The Supreme Court Database</title> <meta name="generator" content="Coda" /> <meta name="description" content="The Supreme Court Database is the definitive source for researchers, students, journalists, and citizens interested in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Database contains over two hundred pieces of information about each case decided by the Court between the 1946 and 2012 terms. Examples include the identity of the court whose decision the Supreme Court reviewed, the parties to the suit, the legal provisions considered in the case, and the votes of the Justices." /> <meta name="keywords" content="supreme court, spaeth, database" /> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <style type="text/css" media="screen,print">@import "includes/globalStyle.css";</style> <style type="text/css" media="screen,print">@import "fwCore/styleDebug.css";</style> <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="includes/globalJs.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="fwCore/jsDebug.js"></script>  <script src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.2/jquery.min.js"></script> <script src="includes/bxSlider/jquery.bxslider.min.js"></script> <link href="includes/bxSlider/jquery.bxslider.css" rel="stylesheet" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="images/favicon.ico"> </head> <body> <a name="top"></a> <table width="980" align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style=""> <tr> <td width="75%" style="height:90px; text-align:left;"> <a href="http://law.wustl.edu"><img src="images/wulaw.png" alt="wulaw" width="439" height="54" /></a> </td> <td width="25%">   </td> </tr> </table> <table width="980" align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="border:2px solid #ccc; margin-top:5px;"> <tr> <td style="background-image:url('images/logo321.gif'); border-right:1px solid #ccc;"><a href="index.php"><img src="images/trans.gif" alt="image" width="196" height="125" border="0" /></a></td> <td style="background-image:url('images/_hdrImagesV2/hdr3a.jpg'); border-right:1px solid #ccc;"><img src="images/trans.gif" alt="image" width="196" height="125" /></td> <td style="background-image:url('images/_hdrImagesV2/hdr3b.jpg'); border-right:1px solid #ccc;"><img src="images/trans.gif" alt="image" width="196" height="125" /></td> <td style="background-image:url('images/_hdrImagesV2/hdr3c.jpg'); border-right:1px solid #ccc;"><img src="images/trans.gif" alt="image" width="196" height="125" /></td> <td style="background-image:url('images/_hdrImagesV2/hdr3d.jpg');"><img src="images/trans.gif" alt="image" width="196" height="125" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="navBox" style="background: #666; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; "><a href="about.php"><div class="navBox"><img src="images/_nav/aboutOff.gif" alt="image" width="57" height="15" border="0" /></div></a></td> <td class="navBox" style="background: #666; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;"><a href="data.php"><div class="navBox"><img src="images/_nav/dataOff.gif" alt="image" width="45" height="15" border="0" /></div></a></td> <td class="navBox" style="background: #666; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;"><a href="data.php"><div class="navBox"><img src="images/_nav/dataOff.gif" alt="image" width="45" height="15" border="0" /></div></a></td> <td class="navBox" style="background: #666; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;"><a href="analysis.php"><div class="navBox"><img src="images/_nav/analysisOff.gif" alt="image" width="76" height="15" border="0" /></div></a></td> <td class="navBox" style="background: #360; border-bottom:0px solid #ccc;"><a href="documentation.php"><div class="navBox"><img src="images/_nav/documentationOn.gif" alt="image" width="127" height="15" border="0" /></div></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="5" align="left" style="background: #360; border-bottom:1px solid #fff; "><img src="images/trans.gif" alt="image" width="1" height="7" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="5" align="left" valign="top" style="background: #EEE; color:#360; padding-top:7px; border-right:1px solid #ccc; border-bottom: 1px solid #ccc;" > <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="margin-left:15px;"> <tr> <td class="subTopNavBoxOff" style="color:#360; "><a href="documentation.php?s=1" style="color:#360;">Online Code Book</a></td> <td class="subTopNavBoxOff" style="color:#360; "><a href="documentation.php?s=2" style="color:#360;">Downloadable Code Book</a></td> <td class="subTopNavBoxOff" style="color:#360; "><a href="documentation.php?s=3" style="color:#360;">Code Repository</a></td> <td class="subTopNavBoxOn" style="color:#360; "><a href="documentation101.php" style="color:#360;">SCDB Web 101</a></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="5" valign="top" style="padding:35px;" > <div class="header" style="color:#360;">SCDB Web 101</div> To long-time users of the Supreme Court Database the purpose of this site and how to use it is clear. But a large part of the current initiative is about making this valuable collection accessible to a whole new spectrum of users. For these users, where to start may not be so obvious. These lessons show how to use the online data analysis tool. <br /><br / > If there is a topic you feel would be a good addition to the series, please let us know using <a href="contact.php">the contact page</a>. <br /><br / > <strong>Current Topics</strong><br /> <a href="#lesson1">Lesson 1 : Running your first online analysis</a><br /> <a href="#lesson2">Lesson 2 : The difference between the downloadable and online versions of the database</a><br /> <a href="#lesson3">Lesson 3 : Making adjustments to an analysis</a><br /> <a href="#lesson4">Lesson 4 : Recalling a previous analysis</a><br /> <table width="700" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="padding-top:30px;"> <tr> <td align="right" colspan="3"><a name="lesson1"> </a><br /> <a href="#top">return to top</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background:#ddd; border:1px solid #aaa; padding:10px; padding-left:20px;line-height:18px;" colspan="2"> <div class="scdb101_lesson" style="">Lesson 1: Running your first online analysis</div> The heart of the collection lives behind the analysis page. </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="scdb101_Col" style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"> <div class="scdb101_step">Step 1</div> Go to the <a href="analysis.php">Analysis Specifications</a> page. Using the form mark your areas of interest. As for what those areas of interest can be, they can be both broad and quite specific. Say, for example, you want to know: <ul> <li>Who among the Roberts Court justices dissents the most, or the least? </li> <li>What proportion of the gender discrimination cases have women won? </li> <li>How well (or poorly) do American Indians fare when they appear before the Supreme Court as the petitioning party? </li> <li>When they appear as the respondent? </li> <li>How much difference does it make if they find themselves subject to state regulation? </li> <li>How often has the Supreme Court declared acts of congress unconstitutional? </li> <li>Which justice is most supportive of civil rights? </li> <li>Who's the least?</li> </ul> These are the sorts of questions the database can quickly and accurately answer using the form fields offered on the Analysis Specifications page. </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="50%" class="scdb101_Col" style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;"> <div class="scdb101_step" style="">Step 2</div> After you have flagged the items of interest, hit the analyze button at the bottom of the Analysis Specifications page to submit the inquiry.<br><br> </td> <td width="50%" class="scdb101_Col" > <div class="scdb101_step">Step 3</div> The results of your analysis will be presented. In these pages you will find leagues of information pertaining to your request. That's all there is to performing an online analysis. </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="scdb101_Col" align="center" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;border-left: 1px solid #aaa;" ><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_1b.gif" alt="scdb101_1b" width="150" height="68" style="border:1px solid #aaa; "/></td> <td class="scdb101_Col" align="center" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_1c.gif" alt="scdb101_1c" width="275" height="133" style="border:1px solid #aaa; "/></td> </tr> </table> <table width="700" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="padding-top:30px;"> <tr> <td align="right" colspan="3"><a name="lesson2"> </a><br /> <a href="#top">return to top</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background:#ddd; border:1px solid #aaa; padding:10px; padding-left:20px; line-height:18px;" colspan="2" > <div class="scdb101_lesson" style="">Lesson 2: The difference between the downloadable and online versions of the database</div> There are two ways to analyze data from the Supreme Court database. First is the online version, which requires no specialized software. Rather, you perform analysis right on the website, selecting the set of cases of interest and then summarizing variables of interest. <br /><br /> Second, the website contains downloadable versions of the database in a variety of formats which can be used to perform more complicated analyses. The downloadable version of the database most closely resembles what has been historically available. </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="5%" style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;padding:20px;"><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_2a.gif" alt="scdb101_2a" width="275" height="150" style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" /></td> <td width="95%" class="scdb101_Col" style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"> <div class="scdb101_step">Analysis Overview</div> The Analysis Overview provides the initial report of your search. In the header block, details regarding your search and the resultant analysis metrics are displayed. Below that two charts are displayed. The first shows, year by year, how many cases met your criteria. The second chart shows the decision direction for those cases. <br /><br /> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;padding:20px;"><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_2b.gif" alt="scdb101_2b" width="275" height="150" style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" /></td> <td class="scdb101_Col" style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"> <div class="scdb101_step">Issues Summary</div> In the second panel of information a summary of the issues involved in the pertinent cases is offered and are organized by issue category. This is done through two charts. The first displays occurrence by term. The second provides a cumulative breakdown. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;padding:20px;"><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_2c.gif" alt="scdb101_2a" width="275" height="150" style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" /></td> <td class="scdb101_Col" style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"> <div class="scdb101_step">Frequency Distribution</div> Once you have selected your cases of interest, the Frequency Distributions tab allows you summarize a variety of variables for your selected cases. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;padding:20px;"><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_2d.gif" alt="scdb101_2d" width="275" height="150" style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" /></td> <td class="scdb101_Col" style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"> <div class="scdb101_step">Crosstab Reports</div> In addition to summarizing single variables, the Crosstab Report allows you to produce a cross-tabulation (sometimes called a two-way table) that shows the relationship between two variables for your selected cases. If you would like to perform more sophisticated analyses, it is necessary to download the full dataset and use statistical software. </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;padding:20px;"><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_2e.gif" alt="scdb101_2a" width="275" height="150" style="border: 1px solid #aaa;" /></td> <td class="scdb101_Col" style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"> <div class="scdb101_step">Case Detail</div> In this final section of data, you are able to view granular details for how each individual case in your search is coded. Information includes the case name, citations, links to case opinions, and a variety of other coded variables. </td> </tr> </table> <table width="700" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="padding-top:75px;"> <tr> <td align="right" colspan="3"><a name="lesson3"> </a><br /> <a href="#top">return to top</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background:#ddd; border:1px solid #aaa; padding:10px; padding-left:20px;line-height:18px;" colspan="3"> <div class="scdb101_lesson" style="">Lesson 3: Making adjustments to an analysis</div> If at first you don't succeed, try again. It would just be nice if you didn't have to start over from scratch, and you don't. </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="33%" class="scdb101_Col" style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;"> <div class="scdb101_step">Step 1</div> Run your desired analysis using the analyze button at the bottom of the <a href="analysis.php">Analysis Specifications</a> page.<br> </td> <td width="34%" class="scdb101_Col"> <div class="scdb101_step">Step 2</div> If you realize there are settings you would like to change or adjust, hit the "refine this search" link in the upper right corner of the Analysis pages.<br> </td> <td width="33%" class="scdb101_Col" > <div class="scdb101_step">Step 3</div> Make the desired adjustments and then re-run the analysis using the analyze button at the bottom of the Analysis Specifications page.<br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="scdb101_Col" align="center" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa; border-left: 1px solid #aaa;"><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_3a.gif" alt="scdb101_1b" width="150" height="68" style="border:1px solid #aaa; "/></td> <td class="scdb101_Col" align="center" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;" ><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_3b.gif" alt="scdb101_3b" width="175" height="75" style="border:1px solid #aaa; " /></td> <td class="scdb101_Col" align="center" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_3c.gif" alt="scdb101_3c" width="150" height="68" style="border:1px solid #aaa; "/></td> </tr> </table> <table width="700" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="padding-top:75px;"> <tr> <td align="right" colspan="3"><a name="lesson4"> </a><br /> <a href="#top">return to top</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background:#ddd; border:1px solid #aaa; padding:10px; padding-left:20px;line-height:18px;" colspan="3"> <div class="scdb101_lesson" style="">Lesson 4: Re-access a previous analysis</div> There are a number of reasons you may wish to refer to a search/analysis you previously conducted. This can be done using the Search Reference Code. This code can be referenced in websites, articles or publications. </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="33%" class="scdb101_Col" style="border-left: 1px solid #aaa;"> <div class="scdb101_step">Step 1</div> Run your desired analysis using the form found on the <a href="analysis.php">Analysis Specifications</a> page by indicating your preferences and hitting the analyze button at the bottom of the page.<br> </td> <td width="34%" class="scdb101_Col"> <div class="scdb101_step">Step 2</div> Note the Search Reference Code in the upper right corner of the Analysis Results page in the Analysis Overview and within the Analysis Outcome block. The code will look something like 0903-PINDROP-4510.<br> </td> <td width="33%" class="scdb101_Col" > <div class="scdb101_step">Step 3</div> Return to the <a href="analysis.php">Analysis Specifications</a> page, enter the Search Reference Code, select SCDB Search Code and click the analyze button. The results will be displayed, based upon your previous search settings.<br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="scdb101_Col" align="center" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa; border-left: 1px solid #aaa;"><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_4a.gif" alt="scdb101_1a" width="150" height="68" style="border:1px solid #aaa;" /></td> <td class="scdb101_Col" align="center" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;" ><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_4b.gif" alt="scdb101_3b" width="202" height="90" style="border:1px solid #aaa; " /></td> <td class="scdb101_Col" align="center" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa;"><img src="images/_scdb101/scdb101_4c.gif" alt="scdb101_3c" width="175" height="176" style="border:1px solid #aaa; " /></td> </tr> </table> <br /><br /> <center> Remember, if there is a topic you feel would be a good addition to the SCDB 101 series,<br> let us know using <a href="contact.php">the contact page</a>. </center> <br /><br /> <div class="footer"> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="5" align="right" > <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="margin-right:25px;"> <tr>  <td style="width:15px;"> </td> <td class="miniNavButton" style="background:#360; "><a href="contact.php" style="font-size:75% ;color:#fff;">CONTACT</a></td> <td style="width:15px;"> </td>   <td class="miniNavButton" style="background:#360; "><a href="#top" style="color:#fff;font-size:75%;">TOP</a></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="5" align="left" valign="top" style="background: #EEE; color:#360; padding-bottom:7px; border-right:1px solid #ccc; border-top: 1px solid #ccc;" > <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="margin-left:15px;"> <tr> <td class="subBtmNavBoxOff" style="color:#360; "><a href="documentation.php?s=1" style="color:#360;">Online Code Book</a></td> <td class="subBtmNavBoxOff" style="color:#360; "><a href="documentation.php?s=2" style="color:#360;">Downloadable Code Book</a></td> <td class="subBtmNavBoxOff" style="color:#360; "><a href="documentation.php?s=3" style="color:#360;">Code Repository</a></td> <td class="subBtmNavBoxOn" style="color:#360; "><a href="documentation101.php" style="color:#360;">SCDB Web 101</a></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="30" style="background: #360 "><img src="images/nsf360.gif" alt="image" width="196" height="50" /></td> <td colspan="3" style="background: #360; color:#ccc; padding-left:10px;"> The Supreme Court Database has been generously supported by the National Science Foundation. </td> <td height="30" style="background: #360; text-align:center;"><a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0; " src="http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.png" /></a></td> </tr> </table> <table width="902" align="center" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="" style="margin-top:15px;"> <tr> <td align="center" valign="middle" style=""> <br> <img src="images/washu_logo.png" alt="washu_logo" width="241" height="20" /> <br><br>  </td> </tr> </table> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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The Supreme Court Database