Prior District Court Service Boosts Appellate Judges’ Propensity to Affirm: Evidence from U.S. Courts of Appeals, 2008 – 2024

• In Event: Judicial Behavior and Institutional Design

Brief Overview

We introduce the concept of residual trial court experience. Using 94,000 criminal appeals between 2008 and 2024, results reveal that RTCE exhibits a positive and statistically significant association with the likelihood of affirmance.

Author

• Li Zhang, University of Virginia