Vol. 5 No. 6 (June, 1995) pp. 183-185
DECISIONS AND IMAGES: THE SUPREME COURT AND THE PRESS by Richard
Davis. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. 1994. Paper. 193
pp.
Reviewed by Christopher E. Smith, Michigan State University
Judicial scholars are accustomed to analyzing the U.S. Supreme
Court's image and legitimacy. The primary objectives of analyses
concerned with such issues are assessments of the public's
understanding of these institutional attributes and the influence
of these attributes on justices' decision making. Given the
nature of these topics and the difficulties involved in
quantifying related variables, scholars often reach speculative
conclusions based on anecdotal evidence, frequently drawn from
specific illustrative cases or justices' off-bench comments.
Richard Davis enters this research arena by examining the news
media's dual role in communicating the Supreme Court's image and
decisions to the public and in providing feedback that the
justices may use to shape their actions and decisions. Davis does
not avoid engaging in speculative analysis and he concedes as
much in discussing the justices' motives and actions (p. 116).
Thus he opens himself to potential criticism from those whose
acceptance of arguments and conclusions requires empirical
evidence that meets specified standards. However, Davis has done
an unassailably impressive job of providing new details about the
interactions between Supreme Court justices and reporters, and
the objectives, methods, and insights of the reporters who cover
the Supreme Court beat.
Davis obviously had enviable access to the Supreme Court press
corps and the Court's public information office. Although he
interviewed a relatively small number of people (20), he was
examining the context of a small press corps in which his
interviewees were the very people who shape the news stories
about the Court, and whose role and importance have been
neglected by scholars in the past. Davis also conducted a survey
of the Supreme Court press corps, observed the reporters and the
Court's public information officials at work, and culled the
private papers of departed justices for memoranda and letters
related to the Court's interaction with the press. By pulling
together these varied sources, Davis presents a rich, detailed
picture of news media operations at the Supreme Court.
The book is weakest in the author's general discussion of the
Court's public image. For example, Davis states, without
providing supporting evidence from public opinion polls, that
"Mass demonstrations and mail campaigns reinforce the image
of the Court as a political institution vulnerable to political
pressure" (p. 26). The author's phrasing seems to indicate
that he simply adopted and repeated the lamentation from Justice
Scalia's concurring opinion in WEBSTER V. REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
SERVICES (1989) -- which Davis subsequently quotes on the same
page. This type of weakness apparently stems from two sources.
First, the book's primary focus and unique contribution to
academic literature concern the details of the Supreme Court's
press operations. Second, the overall brevity of the book (193
pages) and the general, conclusory writing style evident in some
parts of the book appear aimed at making the
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volume attractive as a supplementary text in college classes.
While DECISIONS AND IMAGES has the potential to be a very
interesting and valuable book for teaching purposes (e.g., its
appendix contains sample press releases and memoranda from
interest groups trying to influence the Court and public
opinion), its generality in discussing larger issues presents
little that is new to scholars.
A second, minor weakness that may attract the notice of some
scholars is that the book is marred in a few spots by weak
proofreading, especially with respect to the proper spellings of
the last names of several recognizable authors.
The foregoing weaknesses are, however, outweighed by the author's
significant contributions to knowledge about the operations of
the Supreme Court press corps and public information office. One
of the greatest virtues of the book -- and one that the author
does not specifically note in his discussions -- is that judicial
scholars have the opportunity to see, up close and personal, the
people and processes that translate and disseminate information
to those of us who write about the Supreme Court. For example,
how many of us can honestly say that our understanding of the
contemporary Supreme Court has not been shaped in some way by the
reporting of Linda Greenhouse of the NEW YORK TIMES? Through the
interview responses detailed by Davis, familiar names -- such as
Linda Greenhouse, Tim O'Brien of ABC News, Lyle Denniston of the
BALTIMORE SUN, and Toni House, the Court's Public Information
Officer -- now become flesh-and-blood personalities whose values,
purposes, and insights are available, at least in part, to the
audience of scholars who utilize their work. Davis does not
merely report on what he has been told by these Court insiders.
Instead, he does a good job of integrating their responses into
his discussion and analysis of such topics as choosing and
preparing newsworthy stories, personal contacts between reporters
and justices, and the functions of the Court's public information
office.
Davis presents two theses at the start of the book. First, he
posits that the Court "pursues specific objectives in its
relationship with the press....[by] manipulat[ing]...the press
relationship...to promote institutional power generally and its
influence on specific policy issues" (p. xii). Second, he
asserts that "each individual justice possesses objectives
in press relations separate from those of the institution and
that those are pursued through a variety of interactions with the
press" (p. xii). With respect to the first thesis, the
book's strength is in providing evidence and discussing the
pursuit of the Court's objectives, rather than in advancing
greater understanding of the nature of the Court's institutional
power and influence on policy issues. With respect to the second
issue, Davis can point to specific justices, especially Rehnquist
and Scalia, as examples to illuminate his point, but he does not
purport to provide a comprehensive examination of each justice.
Indeed, Davis himself would note that several justices apparently
pursue their objectives through a strategy of
"non-pursuit" by minimizing contacts with the press.
The author's twin theses provide a political science orientation
for his study and
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make this book a useful and important contribution to scholarly
literature on the Court. Moreover, the author's analytical
approach demonstrates quite clearly that Davis is a critical
analyst who feels no obligation to tailor his conclusions to
accommodate the feelings and perspectives of his cooperative
subjects. However, the author's stated scholarly objectives as
embodied in these two theses do not convey the complete range of
the book's coverage and accomplishments. The book's examination
of the details of the reporters' working lives and the influences
which shape news stories about the Supreme Court will make
DECISIONS AND IMAGES a valuable resource for judicial scholars,
whether or not they are primarily interested in Davis's theses
about the justices' motives and tactics.
Copyright 1995