What do Americans Want in Their State Judges?
Herbert M. Kritzer (2021) “What Do Americans Want in Their State Judges?” 105 Judicature 6–17.
12 Pages Posted: 10 Jan 2022
Date Written: January 7, 2021
Abstract
What characteristics do Americans see as important in who is selected as state judges? This is a surprisingly unexplored question. In this paper I report a brief survey that asked respondents to rate the importance of 12 characteristics, half focused on professional characteristics (e.g., performance in law school) and half on more political characteristics (e.g., experience running for or holding political office). Respondents rated each characteristic twice, once for the potential state supreme court justices and once for potential local trial court judges. The results show that professional characteristics tend to be rated higher than political characteristics with some important exceptions for local trial court judges; professional characteristics tend to be rated higher for state supreme court justices than for local trial judges. The analysis explores relationships with key political and demographic variables. In the conclusion I discuss the apparent disconnect between the rating of professional characteristics as more important than political characteristics and the unwillingness of voters and/or legislators in many states to adopt a selection system the prioritizes the professional dimension over the political dimension.
Keywords: Judges, Judicial Selection
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