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The Politics of Judicial Retirement in Canada and the United Kingdom

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2022

Tajuana Massie ,
Kirk A. Randazzo  and
Donald R. Songer
Tajuana Massie
Affiliation:
South Carolina State University
Kirk A. Randazzo*
Affiliation:
University of South Carolina
Donald R. Songer
Affiliation:
University of South Carolina
*
Contact the corresponding author, Kirk Randazzo, at [email protected].
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Abstract

In this study, we test theories of judicial retirement developed in the United States to study patterns of retirement in Canada and England. We explore whether there is evidence that justices time their departures to strategically advance partisan or policy goals. Using survival analysis to examine the career patterns of judges appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada (1875–2012), as well as the House of Lords of the United Kingdom (1875–2009), we find that there is no evidence of strategy to achieve political objectives. Instead, these judges either choose to stay as long as possible or retire for personal reasons.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Law and Courts , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , Fall 2014 , pp. 273 - 299
Copyright
© 2014 by the Law and Courts Organized Section of the American Political Science Association. All rights reserved.

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