The relationship between the American public and demographics on the Supreme Court: an investigation of “The Harvard- Yale-ification of the Supreme Court.”

There are currently only two law schools represented on the Supreme Court: Harvard and Yale. This research looks to examine this recent narrowing of educational and professional backgrounds on the Supreme Court of the United States of America. Specifically, this paper looks to examine the influence the public has on Supreme Court nominations and the intricacies of public opinion surrounding potential judicial nominees. This is done by drawing from both literature reviewing the influences on Supreme Court nominations and through conducting a public opinion survey on related topics. Through analyzing this prior research and the survey results together it becomes clear that while it is problematic that there are only two law schools represented on the Supreme Court, the public has mixed views on this relative narrowing in diversity