Judicial Review in State Supreme Courts: A Comparative Study(SUNY series in American Constitutionalism)

Unveils the considerable policy-making powers of state supreme courts.

Table of 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 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

About the Author :
Laura Langer is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona.

Review :
"...a refreshing alternative ... Langer [makes a] convincing case for the importance of studying judicial review in state supreme courts. She demonstrates that these courts are important policymakers." - American Political Science Review "This is an excellent piece of original research on a topic of substantial and growing importance in the American political process. The findings regarding the importance of a simultaneous investigation of states and internal/external forces on state supreme courts is pathbreaking. This is first class scholarship with the most appropriate statistical treatment of previously unavailable empirical data on state supreme courts." - Nicholas P. Lovrich, Washington State University