Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. The Rights Paradox
  • Cited by 16
      • Show more authors
      • You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Select format
    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      22 March 2021
      15 April 2021
      ISBN:
      9781108937764
      9781108832090
      9781108927697
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108937764
      Dimensions:
      (229 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.44kg, 196 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (229 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.296kg, 196 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Area Studies, American Studies, US Law, American Government, Politics and Policy, Law, Politics and International Relations
    You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Selected: Digital
    Add to cart View cart Buy from Cambridge.org
    Subjects:
    Area Studies, American Studies, US Law, American Government, Politics and Policy, Law, Politics and International Relations
    Information

    Book description

    The US Supreme Court is the chief institution responsible for guarding minority rights and equality under the law, yet, in order to function authoritatively, the Court depends on a majority of Americans to accept its legitimacy and on policymakers to enforce its rulings. The Rights Paradox confronts this tension, offering a careful conceptualization and theory of judicial legitimacy that emphasizes its connection to social groups. Zilis demonstrates that attitudes toward minorities and other groups are pivotal for shaping popular support for the Court, with the Court losing support when it rules in favor of unpopular groups. Moreover, justices are aware of these dynamics and strategically moderate their decisions when concerned about the Court's legitimacy. Drawing on survey and experimental evidence, as well as analysis of Court decision-making across many recent high-profile cases, Zilis examines the implications for 'equal justice under the law' in an era of heightened polarization and conflict.

    Reviews

    ‘Drawing on a range of literatures, Zilis develops a compelling and original argument: Citizens evaluate the Supreme Court based on the groups they think the Court is supporting. That alone makes his book a great read. But Zilis goes further, assessing his claim against survey and experimental data covering a range of groups. No readers will leave The Rights Paradox without rethinking everything they thought they knew about the Court's legitimacy.’

    Lee Epstein - Washington University in St. Louis

    ‘We're in a renaissance period right now with respect to how scholars assess the vital relationship between the US Supreme Court and public opinion. Zilis' The Rights Paradox demonstrates his role as a leading contributor to not just these efforts, but, as he persuasively demonstrates with a bevy of analyses, to our broader understanding of fundamental tenets of judicial behavior as well. This is an exceptionally important book that needs to be read by anyone who researches or teaches about the US Supreme Court.’

    Ryan Black - Michigan State University

    ‘The Rights Paradox presents an insightful argument about public attitudes toward the Supreme Court and a set of well-designed studies to probe its validity. Zilis provides a new perspective on the forces that shape the Court’s legitimacy, a perspective that has important implications for our understanding of the Court.’

    Lawrence Baum - The Ohio State University

    ‘Zilis successfully integrates several scholarly strands - public opinion, identity politics, the substance of judicial decisions, institutional legitimacy, and judicial decision making - into a definitive scholarly contribution. Not only does The Rights Paradox provide an original explanation of how individuals' feelings toward groups involved in Supreme Court controversies translate into legitimacy judgments, it also connects that theory back to strategic decision making on the Supreme Court.’

    Brandon L. Bartels - George Washington University

    Refine List

    Actions for selected content:

    Select all | Deselect all
    • View selected items
    • Export citations
    • Download PDF (zip)
    • Save to Kindle
    • Save to Dropbox
    • Save to Google Drive

    Save Search

    You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

    Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
    Cancel
    ×

    Contents

    Contents
    References

    Metrics

    Altmetric attention score

    Full text views

    Total number of HTML views: 0
    Total number of PDF views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    Book summary page views

    Total views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    * Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

    Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

    Accessibility standard: Unknown

    Why this information is here

    This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

    Accessibility Information

    Accessibility compliance for the HTML of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.