Wpływ opinii publicznej na orzecznictwo amerykańskiego Sądu Najwyższego
Influence of public opinion on the US Supreme Court's decision-making

Summary/Abstract: The subject of this article is the impact of public opinion on the judicature of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), a topic that has thus far received limited attention in Polish legal scholarship. In a democratic system, public opinion has a decisive impact on the shape of political decisions, but certain spheres of social life are typically regarded as exempt from such influence. The judiciary is considered to be one of these spheres, and in a liberal democratic system, it plays the role of a guarantee of the rights and freedoms of individuals and the minorities against the 'tyranny of the majority' – a view that dominates in the American constitutional discourse. Based on an analysis of the literature from representatives of American legal, sociological and political discourse, two theories were presented to explain the essence of these relations. The first theory – the theory of attitudinal changes – assumes that the changes observed in social moods and changes in judicial decisions are not directly related but run parallel to each other, though under the influence of the same trends and social changes. The second theory – the theory of the strategic behaviour of the SCOTUS justices – posits a direct impact of social moods on the decisions of SCOTUS justices, who in the long term adapt their decisions to social trends. This does not mean that the SCOTUS cannot rule against social moods – it very often does so – but this results in a decrease in the level of its legitimacy.

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