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Women Lawyers before the Supreme Court of Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2011

Erin B. Kaheny ,
John J. Szmer  and
Tammy A. Sarver
Erin B. Kaheny*
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
John J. Szmer*
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Tammy A. Sarver*
Affiliation:
Benedictine University
*
Erin B. Kaheny, Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, PO Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201, phone: (414) 229-6560, fax: (414) 229-5021, ekaheny@uwm.edu
John J. Szmer, Department of Political Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223, phone: (704) 687-3941, fax: (704) 687-3497, jjszmer@uncc.edu
Tammy A. Sarver, Department of Political Science, Benedictine University, 5700 College Road, Lisle, IL 60532, phone: (630) 829-6473, fax: (630) 829-6231, tsarver@ben.edu
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Abstract

Abstract. Recent work by Szmer, Sarver, and Kaheny (2010) exploring US Supreme Court decision making has suggested that lawyer gender might play a role in influencing judicial voting behaviour. Specifically, while women lawyers were not revealed to have a more difficult time winning cases before the US Supreme Court, the study did suggest they face a tougher challenge in gaining support from the more conservative justices on that bench. Here, we test whether women lawyers face similar challenges before the SCC. Our findings do not reveal any disadvantage for litigation teams with larger proportions of women and, in most instances, such teams have an advantage. Specifically, in our model of civil rights and liberties votes, litigation team gender had no bearing on individual SCC justice decisions. However, in a pooled model of all issues combined and in separate models of criminal and economic votes, SCC justices were more likely to side with litigation teams with larger proportions of women lawyers.

Résumé. Une étude récente de Szmer, Sarver et Kaheny (2010) explore la manière dont la Cour suprême des États-Unis prend ses décisions, suggérant que le sexe des avocats pourrait avoir une influence sur le comportement décisionnel des juges. Plus spécifiquement, bien que les avocates n'aient pas plus de difficulté que leurs collègues masculins à gagner leurs procès à la Cour suprême des États-Unis, l'étude suggère que leur plus grand défi est d'obtenir le soutien des juges plus traditionnels de cette cour. Dans le présent article, nous cherchons à déterminer si les avocates canadiennes font face à un défi semblable à la Cour suprême du Canada. Les résultats de notre étude ne révèlent aucun désavantage pour les équipes d'avocats comprenant plus de femmes et dans la plupart des cas, ces équipes bénéficient même d'un avantage. Plus précisement, dans notre modèle décisionnel en matière de droits et libertés civiles, le sexe des membres des équipes d'avocats n'avait aucune incidence sur les décisions individuelles des juges de la Cour suprême du Canada. Cependant, dans un modèle commun réunissant tous les types de dossiers et dans des modèles séparés pour les décisions sur des dossiers criminels et financiers, les juges de la Cour suprême du Canada étaient plus enclins à prendre parti pour des équipes comportant une plus grande proportion d'avocates.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 44 , Issue 1 , March 2011 , pp. 83 - 109
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2011

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