Citizen Adjudicators Lay Members of Alaska's Mixed Administrative Tribunals as Lay Judges in Mixed Courts: A Study of Participation, Attitude and Recruitment.

摘要

Citizen members of mixed administrative tribunals in Alaska make decisions as lay judges in concert with professional judges. Studies of similarly structured European mixed courts reveal that lay judges rarely outvote professional judges (Casper & Zeisel, 1972); professional judges have a negative perception of their lay colleagues (Ivkovic, 2003); and institutional factors impede lay judge participation (Machura, 2001). European studies also show lay judges believe they have value as community representatives and as a moderating influence on the courts (Ivkovic, 2003). Although American studies have documented the professional administrative judge's status concerns and attitudes (Burger, 1984; Schreckhise, 1999), no studies have addressed the participation by the citizen members only in mixed administrative tribunals in North America. A survey of 270 citizen members of Alaska's 45 state mixed administrative tribunals, in five decision-making models with differing professional judge interaction, provided data for a cross-cultural comparison of lay member participation and attitudes. Hypothesis No. 1 predicted that the Alaskan mixed administrative tribunal model closest to European mixed courts would demonstrate the professional judge dominance effects seen in European mixed courts and that the judicial dominance effect would be greater in this model than other tribunal models. The findings did not support the hypothesis. No significant differences in participation or judicial dominance measures were found across tribunal decision-making models. Possible relationships between participation and the citizen members' attitudes and experience were explored and comparisons were drawn with three European studies of lay participation in mixed courts (Machura, 2001; Machura, 2003; Ivokovic, 1995). Findings provide little or no direct support for Hypothesis No. 2, which predicted a positive association between participation and citizen member attitudes for distrust and an orientation toward adjudicatory independence. However, an association exists between adjudicatory independence and regular preparation for hearings and prepared members less frequently endorsed a precedent-favoring view. Finally, this study explored citizen members' views on the recruitment process and satisfaction with their service. Positive correlations between some supportive institutional practices and member satisfaction exist, as predicted by Hypothesis No. 3, but non-supportive practices had stronger associations with dissatisfaction, suggesting negative experience has a greater effect than experience that meets expectations.