Judicial Policy Implementation in Mexico City and Merida

Abstract

Recent theoretical work on judicial policy implementation posits a public enforcement mechanism for judicial decisions that challenge governmental authority. While this mechanism nicely links insights from both positive and normative theories of compliance, it raises two issues that I address in this paper. First, there is a distinction between the degree of support constituents may afford a court and the real political costs people are capable of imposing on their recalcitrant representatives. Second, insofar as information concerning the nature of the conflicts high courts resolve is purported to be vital to the possibility for public enforcement, we ought to expect public officials to attempt to influence the information to which their constituents have access. Spinning political conflict, after all, is what good politicians do best.