Reviving the Schoolmaster

Abstract

Many recent studies of the judiciary and public opinion adopt a model that views court decisions as aggravating division within the public. The authors question the image of Court as polarizer, arguing that the persuading influence of the U.S. Supreme Court is broader than contemporary authors acknowledge. Using a potential outcomes framework, the authors analyze public attitudes in response to the decision in Roe v. Wade, the original test case in Franklin and Kosaki’s seminal article. The authors’ evidence suggests that members of diverse groups who were aware of the Roe decision were more supportive of abortion than their decision-unaware counterparts.