| Members of Congress have come to play an increasingly significant role as lobbyists before the U.S. Supreme Court. Individual Members of Congress, partisan coalitions, state delegations, Congressional caucuses, the U.S. Senate and the Leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives have presented their views to the Justices by filing amicus curiae briefs. In recent years, Members of Congress have filed briefs in cases involving issues ranging from separation of powers (such as the line item veto, Congressional term limits, and Congressional control over the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction) to "hot button" political issues (such as abortion, gun control, and indecency on the internet) to cases in which federal statutes were challenged (such as the Clean Water Act, the Flag Protection Act, and the Sentencing Reform Act) to parochial concerns of interest to their Districts. This study is the first to examine Congressional participation as "friend of the court." The objective of this study is to learn how often Members of Congress participate as amici, what types of cases attract Congressional attention, what motivates Members of Congress to file amicus briefs, and whether Congressional "friends of the Court" influence Supreme Court decision-making.; The data collection and analysis for this study was conducted in four phases. First, I conducted a longitudinal study, in which I analyzed the Supreme Court Records and Briefs for all full opinion cases from October Terms 1953 through 1997. This longitudinal study revealed how often and in what types of cases Members of Congress participate in Supreme Court litigation. Second, I conducted in-depth interviews with current and former Members of Congress and their senior staff to gain a deeper understanding of Congressional motivations for filing amicus briefs. Third, I conducted a Lexis/Nexis search to learn how often the Justices refer to Congressional amici in their opinions. And, lastly, I analyzed the text of the Congressional amicus briefs and the corresponding Supreme Court opinions, using this content analysis to formulate a win/loss record for Members of Congress. Analyzing these findings, along with data gleaned from interviews with former Supreme Court law clerks, I was able to draw conclusions about the overall effectiveness of Congressional amici and the influence of Congressional amici on Supreme Court decision-making. |
