Testing the Court: Examining the Role of Ideology on Judicial Tests through Social Science Measures

The United States Supreme Court adheres to precedent to maintain consistent rulings over time. In order to do so, the Court often creates judicial tests for subsequent Courts to follow. However, the Court often modifies and sometimes completely overrules prior tests. This article examines the circumstances when the Court fails to adhere to prior tests. To determine this, several different constitutional areas are examined where judicial tests were established and later modified or discarded. The ideology of the Court is explored, as it is argued that this plays a critical role in test formation, modification, and overruling.