What does it mean for a supreme court to ‘make law?' When is it possible to say that its decisions are ‘precedents?' To what extent should a supreme court's pronouncements be taken into account by others – lower courts and political branches? And how should these other actors reason with...

In this special report, Knoll and Mason discuss how the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court should apply Wynne when it hears on remand First Marblehead v. Commissioner of Revenue. The authors conclude that when it originally heard the case, the Massachusetts court mistakenly considered, as part...

Electoral incentives dictate that “the people's” representatives are primarily concerned with securing reelection. Can this expectation be applied to non-representative offices such as State Supreme Court justices? A majority of states use elections to choose non-policymakers such as State...