The Influence Of Amicus Curiae Briefs On Dissents From Denial And The Opinion Of The Court

This research demonstrates the influence amicus curiae briefs have on dissents from denial and opinions of the Court. Further, I aim to discover if dissents from denials are influenced by amicus curiae briefs more than opinions of the Court. Amicus curiae briefs are filed when those who are not a party to a case feel strongly about it and would like to offer their expertise. This expertise is often used by the justices when crafting their opinions. While justices are most known for the opinions of the Court, they also write dissents from denials when they believe that a case should be granted certiorari but the Court has decided not to hear it. This research builds on existing literature to determine the extent of the influence amicus briefs have using similarity reports comparing amicus briefs to dissents from denial and opinions of the Court. My findings show that amicus curiae briefs do, in fact, influence both dissents from denial and opinions of the Court, and that dissents from denial have, on average, more unique matches to amicus curiae briefs per word than opinions of the Court. The difference between the two, however, is not statistically significant.