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A Call For Change: Improving Judicial Selection Methods, Jason J. Czarnezki
A Call For Change: Improving Judicial Selection Methods, Jason J. Czarnezki
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Empirical data show that, despite the significant electoral success of state court judges, elections still impact judicial decision making. Using the State of Wisconsin as an example, this Essay suggests that Wisconsin and other state legislatures, with the support of bar associations and academics, should revisit the historical underpinnings of judicial elections and consider both whether electing judges conforms with the historical goals of having an elected judiciary and whether the available empirical data support the belief that elected judges can be systematically consistent and independent in the decision making process.
Voting And Electoral Politics In The Wisconsin Supreme Court, Jason J. Czarnezki
Voting And Electoral Politics In The Wisconsin Supreme Court, Jason J. Czarnezki
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This Article examines criminal cases decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court over a fifteen-year period in an effort to discern whether judicial elections undercut judicial independence by affecting the ways justices vote. Wisconsin was chosen for this study because the state's mix of appointed and elected judges allows a researcher to control for different judicial selection systems. Specifically, this Article questions whether voting patterns may be affected by a justice's proximity to judicial elections, election margins, and whether a justice was appointed or elected in the initial term, since the governor may appoint a justice to fill a vacancy on …