Chris W Bonneau - Judicial Elections in 21st Century

Although the political and legal environments surrounding judicial elections have changed considerably in recent years, policy debates regarding judicial selection and retention institutions tend to remain stagnant in their reliance on rhetorical appeals rather than systematic evidence. In this volume, an all-star cast offers new insight into how contemporary judicial elections operate and impact American politics. With coverage spanning the judicial hierarchy and addressing fundamental issues such as voting, campaign finance, advertising, performance, legitimacy, and diversity, this comprehensive collection is a must have for anyone interested in contemporary judicial elections.

Greg Goelzhauser, Utah State University

Bonneau and Hall have done it again! This time they have assembled an all-star line-up of scholars of state courts to give us their analyses of a variety of pressing issues surrounding the electing of judges. This collection of chapters is state-of-the-art, filled with unexpected findings and insights, and will be excellent for use in the classroom. I heartily recommend this book not only to judicial scholars but to non-judicial folks interested in larger issues of elections, campaign effects, and the like.

James Gibson, Washington University in St. Louis

Bonneau and Hall have assembled an incredibly insightful and thought-provoking set of essays by leading authorities on judicial elections. This book would be a fantastic choice for any professional or graduate class on the judiciary or elections as well as upper division undergraduate classes on the legal system.

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Leading authorities present the latest cutting-edge research on state judicial elections. Starting with recent transformations in the electoral landscape, including those brought about by U.S. Supreme Court rulings, this volume provides penetrating analyses of partisan, nonpartisan, and retention elections to state supreme courts, intermediate appellate courts, and trial courts. Topics include citizen participation, electoral competition, fundraising and spending, judicial performance evaluations, reform efforts, attack campaigns, and other organized efforts to oust judges. This volume also evaluates the impact of judicial elections on numerous aspects of American politics, including citizens perceptions of judicial legitimacy, diversity on the bench, and the consequences of who wins on subsequent court decisions. Many of the chapters offer predictions about how judicial elections might look in the future. Overall, this collection provides a sharp evidence-based portrait of how modern judicial elections actually work and their consequences for state judiciaries and the American people.

Chris W. Bonneau is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on judicial elections and state courts.

Melinda Gann Hall is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University. Her research concentrations are judicial politics and state courts.

LAW, COURTS AND POLITICS

Edited by Robert M. Howard, Georgia State University

In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville famously noted that scarcely any political question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a judicial question. The importance of courts in settling political questions in areas ranging from health care to immigration shows the continuing astuteness of de Tocquevilles observation. To understand how courts resolve these important questions, empirical analyses of law, courts and judges, and the politics and policy influence of law and courts have never been more salient or more essential.

Law, Courts and Politics was developed to analyze these critically important questions. This series presents empirically driven manuscripts in the broad field of judicial politics and public law by scholars in law and social science. It uses the most up to date scholarship and seeks an audience of students, academics, upper division undergraduate and graduate courses in law, political science and sociology as well as anyone interested in learning more about law, courts and politics.

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Edited by Chris W. Bonneau and Melinda Gann Hall

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2017 Taylor & Francis

The right of Chris W. Bonneau and Melinda Gann Hall to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Typeset in Bembo Std
by Out of House Publishing

To Heather and Robinson who make my work better
by making my life better.
Chris W. Bonneau

To Henry Joseph Price and Fiona Catherine Price for the
infinite joy and laughter.
Melinda Gann Hall

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION 1
Electing Judges in Contemporary American Politics