Policy Legitimacy and the Supreme Court: The Sources and Contexts of Legitimation

Abstract

Conflicting evidence regarding the ability of the Supreme Court to confer policy legitimacy suggests that the process of legitimation is both subtle and multifaceted. Two aspects of this process are examined here First, the rela tionship between policy legitimacy and policy agreement is explored. Ex perimental tests demonstrate that policy legitimacy emerges from a direct process of symbolic legitimation, and through an indirect process of per suasive legitimation. Second, the mediated character of Supreme Court rul ings is examined as it relates to the Court's ability to enhance policy legitimacy. Experimental tests reveal that the Court's power of legitimation remains con sistent regardless of variance in the specific content of news coverage Col lectively, findings highlight the intricacy of policy legitimation while providing evidence that the institutional legitimacy maintained by the Supreme Court can produce significant shifts in policy evaluations.