Opinion assignment and the Chief Justice: 1888-1940

Objective. We seek to explore the opinion assignments of Chief Justices fro m 1888 to 1940 using three models: the organizational, institutional, and a ttitudinal models. Methods. We empirically examine opinion assignments from 1888 to 1940 through a data set that the authors have collected. Results. We find that earlier Chief Justices made assignments based on institutional and organizational criteria rather than for ideological reasons. Conclusio ns. We believe this difference is most likely related to contextual factors that have changed for the modern Court.