Changing Voting Patterns in the Burger Court: The Impact of Personnel Change

This Article investigates the impact of personnel change in the Supreme Court. The author examines the transition from the Warren Court to the Burger Court, the broader implications this has on the nature of change in the Court and on the relationship between the Court and the broader political system. The author suggests that each change in the membership of the Court during this period altered the Court's internal voting patterns. The author argues that President Nixon was successful in appointing justices to slow the libertarian drive of the late Warren Court.

The author concludes that this illustrates that a president blessed with sufficient vacancies has substantial, but not unlimited, capacity to reshape the Court through the exercise of appointment power.