Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Democracy? : The Downsides of Democratizing State Courts

摘要

Much of the empirical work on judicial selection at the state level has failed to uncover any negative consequences of selecting judges in competitive elections. This dissertation examines three previously unconsidered potential consequences of using elections to select and reselect judges. Specifically, this dissertation examines whether voters in judicial elections are influenced by factors beyond the control of individual judges, whether elected judges are systematically less affected by the facts of the case than are appointed judges, and whether the practice of electing judges is harmful to minority rights. This dissertation uncovers evidence that suggests, while many of these consequences may not be true of elected judges generally, there may be some truth to them for judges selected and reselected in low-information judicial elections.