Cracks in the Wall: The Persistent Influence
of Ideology in Establishment Clause Decisions
Gregory C. Sisk & Michael Heise In our ongoing empirical examination of religious liberty decisions in the federal courts, extended now into a third decade, we find the persistence of ideological influence in Establishment Clause decisions for the period of 2006–2015. Because a non-partisan judiciary is essential to preserve the rule of law, we should sound the alarm when partisan influences appear to be weighting the outcome.At the same time, one might take comfort in a systematic narrowing of the partisan gap in this most recent ten-year period for our study. For 1996–2005, we had found an Establishment Clause claimant’s chances…