LAWYERS IN CONGRESS - WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE

Roger Davidson and Nelson Polsby have both argued that social scientis ts have missed some of the very important effects that legislators' le gal training has on the legislative process. Although lawyer members d ominate the U.S. Congress, there has been little study about how their legal training affects Congress as an institution. Contrary,to the co nventional wisdom, this study finds that lawyers have more positive at titudes toward the courts, are less likely to see the courts as politi cally motivated, are less willing to strip the courts of jurisdiction, and see congressional reaction to the courts as non-routine. Various scholars have claimed that the federal courts are protected from congr essional attacks because of their prestige and because of their specia l role in our governmental system. These arguments capture how the law yers in this study view the courts. Thus the behavior of many legislat ors is affected by their legal training and socialization.