PUBLIC OPINION AND THE SUPREME COURT IN THANE

This is a study presenting a systematic analysis of the relationship between the US Supreme Court decisionmaking and American public opinion. The author reaches his conclusions through the examination of 140 US nationwide polls and corresponding Supreme Court decisions since the mid-1930s. Professor Marshall concludes that Justices use opinion polls primarily to justify their decisons%3B that in 66%25 of cases there is no direct causal link between mass attitudes and court decisons at federal level and that in most cases the Court's decisions overwhelmingly prevail.