Judicial selection in the states : politics and the struggle for reform / Herbert M. Kritzer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kritzer, Herbert M., 1947- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Judges--Selection and appointment--United States--States.

Judges.

Judges--Selection and appointment.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 382 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2020.

System Details:

text file

PDF

Summary:

Using detailed case studies of the relevant US states, Herbert Kritzer provides an unprecedented examination of the process and politics of how states select and retain judges. The book is organized around the competing goals of politics and professionalism, namely whether the focus in choosing judges should be on future judicial decisions (court outputs) or on the court processes by which those decisions are reached. Or, in considering who should be a judge, whether the emphasis should be on political credentials or on professional credentials. One important finding is that political concerns have surpassed professionalism concerns since 2000. Another is that voters have been more supportive of professionalism in selecting appellate judges than trial judges. Judicial Selection in the States should be read by anyone seeking a deep understanding of the complex interplay between politics and the judiciary at the state level in the United States.

Contents:

Introduction : The Challenges of Judicial Selection and Retention in the States

North Carolina : Partisanship in the Extreme

Arkansas : Third Time Was the Charm

West Virginia : Change and Chaos

Tennessee : Unconstraining the Governor's Choice of Appellate Judges

Georgia : Nonpartisan Elections as Part of Court Modernization

Mississippi : A Complex of Factors

Utah : The Two Step

New Mexico : Finding Its Own Unique Approach

Connecticut, Rhode Island, and South Carolina : Adding "Merit" to Nonelective Systems

Florida and South Dakota : Unsuccessful Efforts to Extend the Missouri Plan

Nevada and Ohio : Voters Say No to the Missouri Plan

Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Texas, and New Hampshire : Talk, Talk, Talk, But No Results

Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma : Unsuccessful Efforts to End "Merit"

Nominating Commissions

Conclusion : What Do We Want in Our Judges?

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 08 Apr 2020).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781108866941

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.