Deciding to Decide

Of the nearly five thousand cases presented before the Supreme Court each year, less than 5 percent are considered for review. How the court sets its agenda, therefore, is perhaps as important as how it decides cases. H.W. Perry, Jr., takes a look at the internal workings of the Supreme Court, illuminating its agenda-setting policies, procedures, and priorities. He conveys new information and integrates insights he gathered in unprecedented interviews with five justices. For this study Perry also interviewed four U.S. solicitors general, several deputy solicitors general, seven judges on the D.C Circuit Court of Appeals, and sixty-four former Supreme Court law courts.;The clerks and justices spoke frankly with Perry, and his analysis of their responses is the mainspring of this book. He demystifies the Court, bringing it to life for general readers - as well as political scientists and a wide spectrum of readers throughout the legal profession. Perry not only provides previously unpublished information on how the Court operates but also provides a new way of thinking about the institution. Among his contributions is a decision-making model that aims to be more convincing and persuasive than the standard way of explaining judicial behaviour.