The Effect of the 2018 Elections on the Texas Courts of Appeals: Better Demographic Representation, Greater Partisan Balance, and More Complex Decision-Making Dynamics
27 Pages Posted: 19 Dec 2019
Date Written: December 17, 2019
Abstract
This report presents data on the impact of the 2018 general elections on the composition of the appellate judiciary in Texas with respect to demographic characteristics (sex ratio, age profile, minority representation) and partisanship.
It sets the stage for an empirical assessment of the effect of the membership change on the incidence of dissents and concurrences, based on systematic analysis of appellate case processing data, once it is available for an entire year before and after the watershed date of January 1, 2019, which is the date the newly elected Democrats replaced Republican incumbents and achieved majority control on the Courts of Appeals in Houston, Dallas, and Austin.
The partisan turnover event occurred in the middle of the fiscal year, which is the annual reporting period for official court statistics by the Office of Court Administration. Related data collection and analysis problems are discussed.
Keywords: judicial elections, appellate courts, judicial politics, impact of party on judicial decision-making, dissents and concurrences, demographic representation
JEL Classification: K10, K20, K30, K41
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation