Attitudinal Model Versus New Institutional Approach to Supreme Court Decision-Making: Israel and the U.S.

What are judges' considerations when deciding a dispute? What if any is the significance of their ideological attitudes? How much consideration do they give to the social climate or to institutional interests? Does the law matter?Researchers in the US have tried to answer these questions for over a century. In my study, I will examine the answers provided by the Attitudinal Model Researchers versus those of the New Institutionalism Scholars. the Attitudinal Model sees judges as political players who decide disputes based on ideological positions vis-à-vis the facts of the case; the New Institutionalism Approach argues that court decisions are influenced not only by policy preferences of particular judges, but also by the nature of the court as an institution, and how it in turn affects and shapes judges' policy preferences.My research foxes on the Israeli Supreme Court decisions regarding freedom of religion. My examination will be carried out by analyzing quantitative content of High Court decisions in this sphere. I will compare the results to counterpart studies conducted in the US, and will then learn from a comparison the significance if any of institutional variables, the main of which is how judges are appointed.My study has three main objectives: One is adding another layer to the theoretical debate between the Attitudinal Model and the New Institutional approach to Supreme Court decision-making. The second objective is creating a preliminary study of judges' considerations in Israel's courts. Does the Attitudinal Model explain judges' decisions in Israel as well? To what extent does Israeli law influence legal decisions? These questions have not yet been explored in Israel. The third and more significant objective is creating a platform for comparative-institutional discourse on fundamental questions of jurisprudential politics in Israel versus the US. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]