Measuring Internal Influence on the Rehnquist Court: An Analysis of Non-Majority Opinion Joining Behavior

As one of the few studies to examine internal influence among Justices on the United States Supreme Court, this Note seeks to identify the most influential individuals on the Rehnquist Court. Using an empirical analysis of non-majority opinion joining behavior, this Note examines two time periods separately: the entire Rehnquist Court (the 1986 to 2004 Terms) and the time when the membership on the Court was unchanged (the 1994 to 2004 Terms). Finding that the most influential Justices tend to be those who are neither at the ideological middle nor at the extremes, the results indicate that Chief Justice Rehnquist was the most influential conservative Justice, and Justice Souter was the most influential liberal. These results are used as a paradigm for predicting the effect that Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito will have on the Court, concluding that Chief Justice Roberts has a key opportunity to be very influential despite his freshman status on the Court.