The Futility of Appeal: Disciplinary Insights into the "Affirmance Effect" on the United States Courts of Appeals

Authors

Chris Guthrie
Tracey E. George

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Florida State University Law Review

Publication Date

2005

ISSN

0096-3070

Page Number

357

Keywords

appellate courts, cognitive psychology, heuristics, biases, federal courts, judicial behavior, attitudinal model, strategic model

Disciplines

Courts | Judges | Law

Abstract

In contrast to the Supreme Court, which typically reverses the cases it hears, the United States Courts of Appeals almost always affirm the cases that they hear. We set out to explore this affirmance effect on the U.S. Courts of Appeal by using insights drawn from law and economics (i.e., selection theory), political science (i.e., attitudinal theory and new institutionalism), and cognitive psychology (i.e., heuristics and biases, including the status quo and omission biases).

Recommended Citation

Chris Guthrie and Tracey E. George, The Futility of Appeal: Disciplinary Insights into the "Affirmance Effect" on the United States Courts of Appeals, 32 Florida State University Law Review. 357 (2005)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/faculty-publications/813