Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T21:44:17.294Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Judicial Reform in the American States: The Chief Justice as Political Advocate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Teena Wilhelm ,
Richard L. Vining Jr. ,
Ethan D. Boldt  and
Bryan M. Black
Teena Wilhelm*
Affiliation:
University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
Richard L. Vining Jr.
Affiliation:
University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
Ethan D. Boldt
Affiliation:
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA
Bryan M. Black
Affiliation:
Fulton County District Attorney's Office, Atlanta, GA, USA
*
Teena Wilhelm, Department of Political Science, University of Georgia, 180 Baldwin Hall, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The state courts of last resort are vital components of American judicial system, disposing of many important legal matters. The chief justices of these courts serve consequential roles in these institutions. Although scholars have examined the selection and duties of states' chief justices, their interactions with the elected branches are understudied. We focus on how chief justices on state high courts use their roles to encourage judicial reform. Specifically, we examine the determinants of chief justices' successes or failures as advocates for their justice systems. To analyze why chief justices succeed or fail as reform advocates, we analyze the fate of reform proposals offered in state of the judiciary addresses. Our results indicate that greater ideological similarity between the state legislature and chief justice or state supreme court median increases the odds of an agenda item being enacted. We also find that the scope of a policy request influences the likelihood it will be granted.

Keywords

judicial politicschief justicestate courtsinterbranch relationsstate supreme courts
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 20 , Issue 2 , June 2020 , pp. 135 - 156
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019

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.)

References

Barnes, Jeb. 2004. “Adversarial Legalism, the Rise of Judicial Policymaking, and the Separation of Powers Doctrine.” In Making Policy, Making Law: An Interbranch Perspective, eds. Miller, Mark C and Barnes, Jeb. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 35–52.Google Scholar
Bonica, Adam. 2016. “Database on Ideology, Money in Politics, and Elections: Public Version 2.0” [Computer file]. Stanford: Stanford University Libraries..Google Scholar
Bonica, Adam, and Woodruff, Michael J.. 2015. “A Common-Space Measure of State Supreme Court Ideology.” Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 31:472–498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brace, Paul, and Boyea, Brent. 2008. “State Public Opinion, the Death Penalty and the Practice of Electing Judges.” American Journal of Political Science 52:360–372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brace, Paul, and Hall, Melinda Gann. 2001. “‘Haves’ versus ‘Have Nots’ in State Supreme Courts: Allocating Docket Space and Wins in Power Asymmetric Cases.” Law and Society Review 35:393–417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canes-Wrone, Brandice, Clark, Tom S., and Kelly, Jason P.. 2014. “Judicial Selection and Death Penalty Decisions.” American Political Science Review 108:23–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cann, Damon, and Wilhelm, Teena. 2011. “Case Visibility and the Electoral Connection in State Supreme Courts.” American Politics Research 39:557–581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, Tom S. 2009. “The Separation of Powers, Court Curbing, and Judicial Legitimacy.” American Journal of Political Science 53:971–989.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coffey, Daniel. 2005. “Measuring Gubernatorial Ideology: A Content Analysis of State of the State Speeches.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 5:88–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Figueiredo, John M., Gryski, Gerald S., Tiller, Emerson H., and Zuk, Gary. 2000. “Congress and the Political Expansion of the US Districts Courts.” American Law and Economics Review 2:107–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Figueiredo, John M., and Tiller, Emerson H.. 1996. “Congressional Control of the Federal Judiciary: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of Judicial Expansion.” Journal of Law and Economics 39:435–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolan, Maura. 2013. “A Chief Justice's Lament in a Legal History Lesson.” Los Angeles Times, March 12.Google Scholar
Downs, Anthony. 1966. Inside Bureaucracy. Boston: Little, Brown.Google Scholar
Edwards, George C., Barrett, Andrew III, and Peake, Jeffrey. 1997. “The Legislative Impact of Divided Government.” American Journal of Political Science 41:545–563.Google Scholar
Eshbaugh-Soha, Matthew. 2005. “The Politics of Presidential Agendas.” Political Research Quarterly 58:257–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eshbaugh-Soha, Matthew. 2010. “The Importance of Policy Scope to Presidential Success in Congress.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 40:708–724.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geyh, Charles G. 2006. When Courts and Congress Collide: The Struggle for Control of America's Judicial System. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Melinda Gann. 1987. “Constituency Influence in State Supreme Courts: Conceptual Notes and a Case Study.” Journal of Politics 49:1117–1124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Melinda Gann. 1990. “Opinion Assignment Procedures and Conference Practices in State Supreme Courts.” Judicature 73:209–214.Google Scholar
Hughes, David, Wilhelm, Teena, and Vining, Richard L. Jr. 2015. “Deliberation Rules and Opinion Assignment Procedures in State Supreme Courts: A Replication.” Justice System Journal 36:395–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, Jennifer M., and Martinek, Wendy L.. 2009. “The Effects of Race and Gender on the Judicial Ambitions of State Trial Court Judges.” Political Research Quarterly 62:379–392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karnig, Albert K., and Sigelman, Lee. 1975. “State Legislative Reform and Public Policy: Another look.” Western Political Quarterly 28:548–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langer, Laura, McMullen, Jody, Ray, Nicholas P., and Stratton, Daniel D.. 2003. “Recruitment of Chief Justices on State Supreme Courts: A Choice between Institutional and Personal Goals.” The Journal of Politics 65:1468–2508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langer, Laura, and Wilhelm, Teena. 2005. “The Ideology of State Supreme Court Chief Justices.” Judicature 89:78–86.Google Scholar
Magnuson, Eric. 2008. “Reflections on My (Brief) Time as Chief Justice.” The Hennepin Lawyer: B1.Google Scholar
Martin, Elaine. 1993. “Women on the Bench: A Different Voice.” Judicature 77:245–257.Google Scholar
Mayhew, David. 1974. Congress: The Electoral Connection. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Resnik, Judith. 2000. “The Programmatic Judiciary: Lobbying, Judging, and Invalidating the Violence against Women Act.” Southern California Law Review 74:269–293.Google Scholar
Roberts, Keith. 2007. “The Bar's Role in Public Education about the Courts.” Judges' Journal 46:27–35.Google Scholar
Roeder, Phillip W. 1979. “State Legislative Reform: Determinants and Policy Consequences.” American Politics Quarterly 7:51–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, Alan. 1996. “State Legislative Development: Observations from Three Perspectives.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 21:169–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rottman, David B., Flango, Carol R., Cantrell, Melissa T., Hansen, Randall, and LaFountain, Neil. 2000. State Court Organization 1998. Washington, DC, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice.Google Scholar
Smith, Christopher E., and Feldman, Heidi. 2001. “State Supreme Courts Non-Judicial Tasks.” Judicature 84:304–310.Google Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 2007. “Measuring State Legislative Professionalism: The Squire Index Revisited.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 7:211–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Squire, Peverill. 2008. “Measuring the Professionalization of U.S. State Courts of Last Resort.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly 8:223–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarr, G. Alan, and Porter, Mary Cornelia Aldis. 1988. State Supreme Courts in State and Nation. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Thompson, Joel A. 1986. “State Legislative Reform: Another Look, One More Time, Again.” Polity 19:27–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, Robert C., and Breslin, Beau. 2020. “An Integrated Model of State Chief Justices' Governance Agenda.” Unpublished Manuscript.Google Scholar
Vining, Richard L. Jr., and Wilhelm, Teena. 2012. “The Chief Justice as Advocate-in-Chief: Examining the Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary.” Judicature 95:267–274.Google Scholar
Vining, Richard L. Jr., and Wilhelm, Teena. 2016. “The Chief Justice as Administrative Leader: Explaining Agenda Size.” In The Chief Justice: Appointment and Influence, eds. Danelski, David J. and Ward, Artemus. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 357–373.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Wilhelm et al. supplementary material

Appendix

Download Wilhelm et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 243.4 KB