Judicial Review in State Supreme Courts

Laura Langer

Description

Despite having the final word on many policy issues, state supreme courts have received much less scholarly attention than the United States Supreme Court. Examining these often neglected institutions, this book demonstrates that by increasing our knowledge of the behavior of state supreme court judges across differing areas of law, we can enrich our understanding of the function of state supreme courts, and the relations between these institutions and other branches of government. In addition, Judicial Review in State Supreme Courts advances our conceptualization of the judiciary and offers a more general theory about judicial behavior, accountability, and the role of courts in American society. Langer looks at the policy-making powers of state supreme courts, and the conditions under which justices are most likely to review and invalidate state laws, portraying judges as forward thinking individuals who pursue both policy and electoral goals.
List of Tables
List of Figures
Preface
Acknowledgments

1. The Judiciary in a System of Checks and Balances
Courts as Policymakers
State Supreme Court Judicial Review
Evolution of Juducial Review in State Supreme Courts
Adversarial Nature of Judicial Review
Past Approaches to Studying State Supreme Courts as Policymakers
Stategic versus Sincere Behavior
A Comparative Approach to Judicial Autonomy and State Judicial Review
Organization of Study

2. Explanations of Judicial Behavior
Two Stages of Juducial Policymaking
Conceptualizations of the Juduciary
Motivations of Judges

3. A Theory of State Supreme Court Judicial Review
What Motivates Retaliation?
Legislative-Judicial Relations: A Tit for Tat Game
Defining a Judge's Safety Zone and Expected Retaliatory Threats
Expectations about Stage I: The Agenda Setting Stage
Expectations about Stage II: The Decision on the Merits Stage

4. Policy Saliency and Generalizing Behavior in Judicial Review Cases Across Different Policy Areas
Assessing Each Area of Law with Respect to Policy Saliency
Judicial Review of Campaign and Election Law
Judicial Review of Workers' Compensation Law
Judicial Review of Unemployment Compensation Law
Judicial Review of Welfare Benefit Law
Research Design, Data, and Methodology

5. Evidence of State Supreme Court Justices' Responsiveness across Four Areas of Law
Campaign and Election Law
Workers' Compensation Law
Unemployment Compensation Law
Welfare Benefit Law
General Comments Across all Four Areas of Law

6. Conclusion: Independence and Accountability in State Supreme Courts
Comparative Assessment of State Judicial Review
Implications of Judicial Review on Democratic Principles
Where Do We Go From Here?

Appendix: Measurement and Data Source

Notes
References
Index

Sujets

• USA
• United States of America
• Region
• Regional
• États-Unis

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791489246
• Langue: English

Extrait

Judicial Review in State Supreme Courts

SUNY series in American Constitutionalism

Robert J. Spitzer, Editor

Judicial Review in State Supreme Courts

A Comparative Study

Laura Langer

State University of New York Press

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2002 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address the State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207

Production by Michael Haggett Marketing by Jennifer Giovani

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Langer, Laura, 1965– Judicial review in state Supreme Courts : a comparative study / Laura Langer. p. cm. — (SUNY series in American constitutionalism) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-5251-4 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-7914-5252-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Judicial review—United States—States. I. Title. II. Series.

KF4575.L33 2002 347.73'12—dc21

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

2001049517

To my family and in memory of John Patrick Langer.

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Contents

List of Tables List of Figures Preface Acknowledgments 1 The Judiciary in a System of Checks and Balances Courts as Policymakers State Supreme Court Judicial Review Evolution of Judicial Review in State Supreme Courts Adversarial Nature of Judicial Review Past Approaches to Studying State Supreme Courts as Policymakers Strategic versus Sincere Behavior A Comparative Approach to Judicial Autonomy and State Judicial Review Organization of Study 2 Explanations of Judicial Behavior Two Stages of Judicial Policymaking Conceptualizations of the Judiciary Motivations of Judges 3 A Theory of State Supreme Court Judicial Review What Motivates Retaliation? Legislative-Judicial Relations: A Tit for Tat Game Defining a Judge’s Safety Zone and Expected Retaliatory Threats Expectations about Stage I: The Agenda Setting Stage Expectations about Stage II: The Decision on the Merits Stage 4 Policy Saliency and Generalizing Behavior in Judicial Review Cases Across Different Policy Areas Assessing Each Area of Law with Respect to Policy Saliency Judicial Review of Campaign and Election Law Judicial Review of Workers’ Compensation Law

vii

ix xi xiii xvii 1 4 6 8 11

12 14

15 17 19 20 22 31 33 33 35 39 47 50

53 55 59 60

viii

C ONTENTS

Judicial Review of Unemployment Compensation Law Judicial Review of Welfare Benefit Law Research Design, Data, and Methodology 5 Evidence of State Supreme Court Justices’ Responsiveness across Four Areas of Law Campaign and Election Law Workers’ Compensation Law Unemployment Compensation Law Welfare Benefit Law General Comments Across all Four Areas of Law 6 Conclusion: Independence and Accountability in State Supreme Courts Comparative Assessment of State Judicial Review Implications of Judicial Review on Democratic Principles Where Do We Go From Here? Appendix: Measurement and Data Source Notes References Index

62 63 64

89 89 101 108 115 122

123 124 129 133 135 139 145 159

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 5.1

5.2

5.3

5.4

5.5

5.6

5.7

Contents

Tables

Method of Retention for Justices on State Supreme Courts: 1993 States Adopting Intermediate Appellate Courts as of 1993 Difficulty in Amendment Procedure in the American States, 1993 Average State Supreme Court Ideology by State, 1970–93 Campaigns and Elections Case Citations Workers’ Compensation Case Citations Unemployment Compensation Case Citations Welfare Case Citations Stage I. Probit Event History Analysis of Docketed Judicial Review Cases (DJRC): Constitutional Challenges to Campaign and Election Laws, 1970–93 Marginal Effects for Stage I Probit Analysis: The Likelihood of a DJRC on Campaign & Elections Stage II Probit Analysis of Individual Justice’s Vote to Overturn Conservative Policy (VOCP) Regarding Campaign and Election Laws, 1970–93 Stage II Probit Analysis of Individual Justice’s Vote to Overturn Liberal Policy (VOLP) Regarding Campaign and Election Laws, 1970–93 Stage I Probit Analysis of Docketed Judicial Review Cases (DJRC): Constitutional Challenges to Workers’ Compensation Laws, 1970–93 Marginal Effects for Stage I Probit Analysis: The Likelihood of a DJRC on Workers’ Compensation Stage II Probit Analysis of Individual Justice’s Vote to Overturn Conservative Policy (VOCP) Regarding Workers’ Compensation Laws, 1970–93

ix

6

ix

5

6

7

67 68 75–77 77–83 83–84 84–85

90

9

1

96

9

8

102

103

105