Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T19:05:23.363Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Judicial Selection and the Democratization of Justice

Lessons from the Bolivian Judicial Elections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2022

Amanda Driscoll  and
Michael J. Nelson
Amanda Driscoll*
Affiliation:
Florida State University
Michael J. Nelson
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
*
Contact the corresponding author, Amanda Driscoll, at [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In 2011, Bolivia became the first modern country to directly elect national judges. Reformers heralded the adoption of judicial elections as a “democratization of justice,” by which institutional independence would be assured, public confidence in the judiciary might be expanded, and various maladies of the judicial system would find resolution. We evaluate the elections in light of these objectives. We show candidates were advantaged when voters shared their partisan and demographic traits, resulting in unprecedented diversity on the national courts. Also, public confidence in the judiciary increased among government supporters but declined overall. We offer preliminary reflections for would-be reformers.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Law and Courts , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , Spring 2015 , pp. 115 - 148
Copyright
© 2015 by the Law and Courts Organized Section of the American Political Science Association. All rights reserved.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The authors would like to thank the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) and its major supporters (the United States Agency for International Development, the United Nations Development Program, the Inter-American Development Bank, and Vanderbilt University) for making the data available. The authors would also like to thank Matt Gabel, Andrew D. Martin, Keith Schnakenberg, Constanza Schibber, Alicia Uribe, Quintin H. Beazer, Chris Reenock, Dave Klein, anonymous reviewers, and seminar participants at Florida State University for helpful comments. Nicolas Dumas, James Boyce, Casey Delehanty, Kevin Fahey, Eliana Wilk and Juliee Conde Medina provided excellent research assistance. Data and code for replication purposes are available at the authors’ websites.

References

Abramowitz, Alan I. 1988. “Explaining Senate Election Outcomes.” American Political Science Review 82:385–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alpert, Alexandra, Miguel Centellas, and Matthew M. Singer. 2010. “The 2009 Presidential and Legislative Elections in Bolivia.” Electoral Studies 29:757–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baum, Lawrence. 1987. “Explaining the Vote in Judicial Elections: The 1984 Ohio Supreme Court Elections.” Western Political Quarterly 40:361–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolivian Constitution. 2009. “Constitución política del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia.”Google Scholar
Bond, Jon R., Cary Covington, and Richard Fleisher. 1985. “Explaining Challenger Quality in Congressional Elections.” Journal of Politics 47 (2): 510–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonneau, Chris W., and Melinda Gann Hall. 2009. In Defense of Judicial Elections. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boulding, Carew E. 2010. “NGO’s and Political Participation in Weak Democracies: Subnational Evidence on Protest and Voter Turnout from Bolivia.” Journal of Politics 72 (2): 456–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canes-Wrone, Brandice, David W. Brady, and John F. Cogan. 2002. “Out of Step, Out of Office: Electoral Accountability and House Members’ Voting.” American Political Science Review 96 (1): 127–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castagnola, Andrea, and Anibal Peréz-Liñán. 2010. “Bolivia: The Rise (and Fall) of Judicial Review.” In Courts in Latin America, ed. Gretchen Helmke and Julio Rios-Figueroa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Centellas, Miguel. 2009. “Electoral Reform, Regional Cleavages and Party System Stability in Bolivia.” Journal of Politics in Latin America 1 (2): 115–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Couso, Javier A. 2010. “The Transformation of Constitutional Discourse and the Judicialization of Politics in Latin America.” In Cultures of Legality: Judicialization and Political Activism in Latin America, ed. Javier A. Couso, Alexandra Huneesus, and Rachel Sieder. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cuiza, Paulo. 2014. “Evo Morales: ‘En vano incorporamos poncho, pollera y sombreros (a la justicia) porque no cambia nada.’” La Razón, February 11.Google Scholar
“Diputado del MAS revela que sí hubo lisa para seleccionar a candidatos a judiciales.” 2011. Periodico ERBOL, October 31.Google Scholar
Driscoll, Amanda, and Michael J. Nelson. 2012. “The 2011 Judicial Elections in Bolivia.” Electoral Studies 31 (3): 628–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Driscoll, Amanda. 2013. “The Political Origins of Judicial Elections.” Judicature 96 (January/February): 151–60.Google Scholar
Driscoll, Amanda. 2014. “Ignorance or Opposition? Blank and Spoiled Votes in Low-Information, Highly Politicized Environments.” Political Research Quarterly 67:547–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dubois, Philip L. 1984. “Voting Cues in Nonpartisan Trial Court Elections: A Multivariate Assessment.” Law and Society Review 18 (3): 395–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elkins, Zachary, Tom Ginsburg, and James Melton. 2014. “Characteristics of National Constitutions, Version 2.0.” Comparative Constitutions Project.Google Scholar
“El presidente del TCP asegura que graban sus conversaciones.” 2014. La Razón, February 18.Google Scholar
“El registro ampliado aún no tiene inscritos.” 2011. La Razón, June 23.Google Scholar
Fearon, James D. 2003. “Ethnic and Cultural Diversity by Country.” Journal of Economic Growth 2003 (8): 195–222.Google Scholar
Ferreres Comella, Victor. 2004. “The Consequences of Centralizing Constitutional Review on a Special Court: Some Thoughts on Judicial Activism.” University of Texas Law Review 82:1704–36.Google Scholar
Fox, Richard L., and Zoe M. Oxley. 2003. “Gender Stereotyping in State Executive Elections: Candidate Selection and Success.” Journal of Politics 65 (3): 833–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frederick, Brian, and Matthew J. Streb. 2008. “Women Running for Judge: The Impact of Sex on Candidate Success in State Intermediate Appellate Court Elections.” Social Science Quarterly 89:937–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gamarra, Eduardo A. 1997. “Hybrid Presidentialism and Democratization: The Case of Bolivia.” In Presidentialism and Democracy in Latin America, ed. Scott Mainwaring and Mathew Soberg-Shugart, 363–93. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garoupa, Nuno, and Tom Ginsburg. 2009. “The Comparative Law and Economics of Judicial Councils.” Berkeley Journal of International Law 27:53–83.Google Scholar
Geyh, Charles Gardner. 2003. “Why Judicial Elections Stink.” Ohio State Law Journal 64:43–79.Google Scholar
Gibson, James L., and Gregory A. Caldeira. 1992. “The Etiology of Public Support for the Supreme Court.” American Journal of Political Science 36 (3): 635–64.Google Scholar
Gibson, James L., Gregory A. Caldeira, and Vanessa Baird. 1998. “On the Legitimacy of National High Courts.” American Political Science Review 92 (2): 343–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, James L., Gregory A. Caldeira, and Lester Kenyatta Spence. 2003. “Measuring Attitudes toward the United States Supreme Court.” American Journal of Political Science 47 (2): 354–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, James L., and Michael J. Nelson. 2014a. “Is the US Supreme Court’s Legitimacy Grounded in Performance Satisfaction and Ideology?” American Journal of Political Science, forthcoming.Google Scholar
Gibson, James L. 2014. “The Legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court: Conventional Wisdoms, and Recent Challenges Thereto.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science, forthcoming.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Melinda Gann, and Chris W. Bonneau. 2006. “Does Quality Matter? Challengers in State Supreme Court Elections.” American Journal of Political Science 50:20–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haynes, Evan. 1944. The Selection and Tenure of Judges. Baltimore: National Conference of Judicial Councils.Google Scholar
Ho, Daniel E., and Kosuke Imai. 2008. “Estimating Causal Effects of Ballot Order from a Randomized Natural Experiment: California Alphabet Lottery, 1978–2002.” Public Opinion Quarterly 72:216–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurwitz, Mark S., and Drew Lanier. 2003. “Explaining Judicial Diversity: The Differential Ability of Women and Minorities to Attain Seats on State Supreme and Appellate Courts.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 3:329–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobson, Gary C., and Samuel Kernell. 1983. Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
King, Gary, Ori Rosen, and Martin A. Tanner. 2004. Ecological Inference: New Methodological Strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
“Lamentablemente faltó información.” 2011. El Día, October 16.Google Scholar
Latin American Weekly Report. 1999. “Chávez Expresses Some of His Ideas for the New Constitution.”Latin American Weekly Report WR-99-31:368–69.Google Scholar
Llanos, Mariana, and Constanza Figueroa Schibber. 2008. “El presidente y el senado: Los nombramientos del poder judicial en la Argentina democrática (1983–2006).” Desarrollo Económico 47:607–37.Google Scholar
Malleson, Kate, and Peter H. Russell, eds. 2006. Appointing Judges in an Age of Judicial Power. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
“Masistas admiten ‘cuoteo individual’ en designaciones de candidatos judiciales.” 2011. Eju!TV, July 15.Google Scholar
Merryman, John, and Rogelio Pérez-Perdomo. 2007. The Civil Law Tradition: An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Europe and Latin America. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Mesa, Carlos D. 2008. Presidencia sitiada: Memorias de mi gobierno. La Paz: Fundación Comunidad.Google Scholar
Mesa, Carlos D.. 2010. Personal interview.Google Scholar
Miller, Joanne M., and Jon A. Krosnick. 1998. “The Impact of Candidate Name Order on Election Outcomes.” Public Opinion Quarterly 62 (3): 291–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
“Ministra de Justicia: Fue un desacierto la elección de los magistrados.” 2014. Página Siete, January 27.Google Scholar
Morales, Evo. 2014. Informe de la gestión 2013 del Presidente Evo Morales a la asamblea legislativa plurinacional. Bolivian Embassy in Berlin, Germany.Google Scholar
Morrison, Alan B. 2007. “Judges and Politics: What to Do and Not to Do about Some Inevitable Problems.” Justice System Journal 28:293–300.Google Scholar
North, Douglas, and Barry Weingast. 1989. “Constitutions and Commitment: The Evolution of Institutions Governing Public Choice in Seventeenth-Century England.” Journal of Economic History 49 (4): 803–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Connor, Sandra Day. 2009. “Keynote Address.” Seattle University Law Review 33:559–67.Google Scholar
“OEA recomienda selección meritocrática de candidatos.” 2011. La Razón, October 18.Google Scholar
Órgano Electoral Plurinacional. 2010. “Acta de computo nacional eleciones departmentales, municipales y Regional, 2010.” Technical report, Órgano Electoral Plurinacional and the ACE Project, La Paz.Google Scholar
Órgano Electoral Plurinacional. 2011a. Democratizando la justicia: Del pasado al presente, para construir el futuro. La Paz: Órgano Electoral Plurinacional.Google Scholar
Órgano Electoral Plurinacional. 2011b. “Voter Information Guide: 2011 Bolivian Elections.” Órgano Electoral Plurinacional, La Paz.Google Scholar
Peréz-Liñán, Anibal, Barry Ames, and Mitchell A. Seligson. 2006. “Strategy, Careers, and Judicial Decisions: Lessons from the Bolivian Courts.” Journal of Politics 68:284–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pitkin, Hannah F. 1967. The Concept of Representation. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
“Profesionales no se postularán a las elecciones judiciales.” 2011. Página Siete, June 8.Google Scholar
Reddick, Malia, Michael J. Nelson, and Rachel P. Caufield. 2009. “Racial and Gender Diversity on State Courts.” Judge’s Journal 48:28–32.Google Scholar
Rios-Figueroa, Julio. 2011. “Institutions for Constitutional Justice in Latin America.” In Courts in Latin America, ed. Gretchen Helmke and Julio Rios-Figueroa, 27–54. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Rock, Emily, and Lawrence Baum. 2010. “The Impact of High-Visibility Contests for US State Court Judgeships: Partisan Voting in Nonpartisan Elections.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 10:368–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romero, Carlos, Carlos Borhrt Irahola, and Raúl Peñaranda. 2009. Del conflicto al diagolo: Memorias del acuerdo constitucional. La Paz: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and la Fundación Boliviana de Democracia Multipartidaria.Google Scholar
Shugerman, Jed Handelsman. 2010. “Economic Crisis and the Rise of Judicial Elections and Judicial Review.” Harvard Law Review 123:1061–1151.Google Scholar
Shugerman, Jed Handelsman. 2012. The People’s Courts: Pursuing Judicial Independence in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singer, Matthew M. 2007. “The Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Bolivia, December 2005.” Electoral Studies 26:200–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, Walter J., L. Sandy Maisel, and Cherie D. Maestas. 2004. “Quality Counts: Extending the Strategic Model of Incumbent Deterrence.” American Journal of Political Science 48 (3): 479–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Streb, Matthew J., and Brian Frederick. 2009. “Conditions for Competition in Low-Information Elections: The Case of Intermediate Appellate Courts.” Political Research Quarterly 62:665–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
“30 candidatos son afines al MAS y 36 son empleados.” 2011. Página Siete, July 15, online edition.Google Scholar
“TSE admite que la difusión sólo cubrió 70% del area rural.” 2011. Página Siete, October 12.Google Scholar
“Un posgrado será igual que haber sido autoridad indígena.” 2011. Página Siete, June 23.Google Scholar
Vargas, Idón Moisés Chivi. 2010. “El órgano judicial.” In Nuevas miradas: El nuevo texto constitucional. La Paz: Vice-Presidencia del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia.Google Scholar
Veltzé, Eduardo Rodriguéz. 2010. “El órgano judicial y Tribunal Constitucional Plurinacional.” In Nuevas miradas: El nuevo texto constitucional. La Paz: Vice-Presidencia del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia.Google Scholar