State High Court Judges

Revision with unchanged content. Do institutional structures and environmental factors affect judicial decision-making on state supreme courts? This book examines the impact of institutional and political contexts on state high court decisions in all fifty states from 1995-1997. In additon to basic structural considersations such as retention methods, workload issues and term lengths, the political preferences of both elite and mass actors are incorporated into a strategic model of judicial behavior. This question is important as state high courts have a tremendous impact on law in the United States. In terms of both content and percentages, state courts have a greater influence over the state of American law than federal courts. Yet, there has been relatively little research conducted examining judicial behavior on state high courts. This study uses multiple empirical techniques including a formal model, Probit statistical analysis, and case studies in order to present a complete picture of contemporary decisions on state courts. This book will appeal to scholars of judicial behavior as well as individuals interested in state politics, institutional models of decision-making, and strategic behavior.