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Classifying Judicial Selection Institutions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Greg Goelzhauser
Greg Goelzhauser*
Affiliation:
Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
*
Greg Goelzhauser, Department of Political Science, Utah State University, 0725 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322, USA. Email: greg.goelzhauser@usu.edu
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Abstract

The judicial selection classification problem is widely recognized but poorly understood. In this note, I identify the classification problem's three interrelated sources: ambiguous theoretical arguments, varying decision rules for categorizing merit selection states, and not accounting for interim selections in mixed systems. To demonstrate threats to inference posed by the classification problem, I replicate a study on opinion writing productivity in state supreme courts. I also offer straightforward suggestions for resolving the classification problem. Eliminating the classification problem will help ensure that inferences are comparable across studies with respect to the consequences of institutional design choices concerning state judicial selection mechanisms.

Keywords

judicial politicsjudicial selectionjudicial retentionjudicial electionsinstitutions
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , June 2018 , pp. 174 - 192
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018

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