“Friends as Foes: The Amicus Curiae Participation and Effectiveness of the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans for Effective Law Enforcement in Criminal Cases, 1969–1982”*

Abstract

Scholars have long recognized that interest groups realize the importance of the courts as policymakers and as vehicles of social and political change. We examined the amicus curiae participation of the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans for Effective Law Enforcement in criminal cases before the Burger Court from 1969–1982. We found that AELE, a conservative law‐enforcement organization, has been the most successful interest group as participant as amid. Moreover, we found that criminal law is yet another area of law in which interest groups are using the Supreme Court to achieve and protect their policy interests.

Amicus Curiae and the Role of Information at the Supreme Court

“…In looking at amici activity in specific cases or the activity of certain amici, several earlier studies find that amici sometimes supplement parties' arguments and that the Court occasionally uses such information (Behuniak-Long 1991;Epstein 1993;Ivers and O'Connor 1987). However, the absence of systematic samples precludes making general conclusions (see Epstein 1993: 694-99).…”

Interest Group Success in the Courts: Amicus Participation in the Supreme Court

“…A number of early studies explored the strategies and successes of a variety of liberal interest groups (Barker 1967;Cortner 1968;Manwaring 1962;O'Connor 1983;Truman 1951;Vose 1958). More recently, scholarly attention has been drawn to the increasing use of amicus briefs by conservative groups (Epstein 1985;Ivers and O'Connor 1987;O'Connor andEpstein 1983a, 1983b). But while the studies of interest group strategies in litigation abound, there have been few attempts to measure the impact of amicus briefs (Caldeira and Wright 1988; Songer and Sheehan 1990).…”

“…And more recently, some conservative interest groups such as the AELE (Americans for Effective Law Enforcement) appear to have been highly successful (Ivers and O'Connor 1987). Moreover, since filing amicus briefs is costly for groups,2 the increasing resort to amicus briefs has been interpreted to mean that groups are convinced that amicus briefs have a substantial impact (Caldeira and Wright 1990).…”

Supreme Court Outcomes in Criminal Justice Cases (1994-2012 Terms)

“…In most instances, a particular interest group or classification of interest group (for instance, organizations of municipal and state managers or district attorneys' associations) files amici curiae exclusively in support of either government positions or other party positions. Scholars who conduct empirical research in this area most typically study legislative processes (see Roby, 1969;Stolz, 1984Stolz, , 1985Stolz, , 1999Stolz, , 2005 at the exclusion of appellate court processes (one notable exception is the work of Ivers & O'Connor, 1987). 1 Empirical examinations of interest group effects on criminal justice policy outcomes are exceedingly rare (Stolz, 2002).…”