Hume, Robert J. 2007. "Administrative Appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court: The Importance of Legal Signals." Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 4: 625-649.

When do federal agencies appeal adverse circuit court decisions to the U.S. Supreme Court? It is hypothesized that features of judicial opinions, such as the basis of the court’s ruling and the evidence used to support it, can affect whether a petition is filed. Judges send signals in their opinions that discourage petitions, even though parties are otherwise under no legal obligation to refrain from seeking higher court review. Using an original database, this study finds that legal signals do influence the certiorari process, but that the filing of petitions is also affected by an agency’s ideological preferences and the likelihood of review by the Supreme Court.