Public support for independent judges is largely an illusion that vanishes the moment a court issues a ruling that conflicts with a voter's cultural values.
March 31, 2026
Original Paper
Judicial Independence on Trial: Judicial Decisions on Culturally Charged Issues and Public Support for Undemocratic Penalties on Judges
SSRN · 6468348
The Takeaway
While most people claim to value the 'rule of law,' this study found that when a judge makes a controversial ruling on an identity-salient issue (like the Confederate flag), citizens across the political spectrum immediately become open to undemocratic penalties against that judge. Our commitment to judicial independence is downstream of whether we agree with the verdict, not the principle itself.
From the abstract
Public support for judicial independence appears robust in the abstract but is it resilient? I argue that judicial rulings on identity-salient issues can weaken democratic forbearance by activating racial worldviews that motivate citizens to perceive judges as biased and become open to undemocratic penalties. I test this theory using two survey experiments (White and Latino samples), that randomly assign conditions varying the decision direction and the judge's race (uphold/ban Confederate flag)