Oral Arguments Before the Supreme Court

When the Supreme Court agrees to decide a case, the litigants make an (usually one-hour) oral presentation to the Court. In all the steps in the Courts decision, this is the only public part. As such, it provides an important window into the Courts decision-making processes. Using original transcripts from the last 8 sessions of the Supreme Court, Wrightsmans empirical research is the first of its kind. The purpose of this book is to examine how the oral arguments work, and theireffect on the Courts decisions. It also draws the important distinction between ideological cases (i.e. hot-button issues such as the death penalty, affirmative action, abortion, and the environment) and non-ideological cases (bankruptcy, tax code, civil litigation), and shows the different ways inwhich theyre treated.