Inaara McCray and Joshua Matthews, “Beyond the Bench: How the Appearances of Justices Kagan, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh impact the Public”
Mentor: Sara Benesh, Political Science, Letters & Science (College of)
Poster #192
The appearances of the Supreme Court justices influence public perception. While it may seem that all appearances would enhance public support, at times, ideological speeches or political rhetoric can decrease public support. Thus finding what appearances elicit a certain reaction in the public is significant. To achieve this goal, we cataloged the appearances of the Supreme Court justices by focusing on Google searches by year and by justice. Google was the chosen search engine because other databases are not likely to be used by the public. Data collection included reading through the first 50 links of a Google search, and deciding if it was relevant. Relevant appearances happened after the justice was confirmed and off the bench. Furthermore, we did not follow embedded links to additional events found in a report. This mirrored the kind of Google search and result, a member of the general public would encounter. Moreover, this emphasis enabled the measurement of media saturation. Four search terms, interview, speech, comments, and appearance, were used for each Google search. From the Google search, qualifying appearances would be recorded in a Google form. Justices Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh were the primary focus of our research because they provide a comprehensive look into the Supreme Court. The findings of these justices allow for a comparison of the number of appearances over time, the average appearance per year, and the dynamic with the public. The data displays that not all appearances have the same impact. We found Justice Kagan, who has the most appearances annually, has a more dynamic relationship with the public. This presentation will share findings from the data collection of the three justices and speculate about the larger implications for justice appearances.