WOMEN IN THE JUDICIARY

WOMEN IN THE JUDICIARY内容摘要：

Running head: WOMEN IN THE JUDICIARY Women in the Judiciary: An Analysis of Selection Processes Meaghan J. Gass Saint Louis University 1 WOMEN IN THE JUDCIARY 2 WOMEN IN THE JUDICIARY Introduction As seen in various social movements, increased political participation from historically disenfranchised groups is key to improving social status, namely in the equal protection of rights and interests and the protection from the tyranny of the majority. Yet, nearly ninety-three years following the passage of women’s suffrage, women still have not acquired equal political participation in public office. When looking at one of the most obvious forms of power, elected office, women are not equally present. However, it is not clear what accounts for the difference in proportion of men and women in public office. Thus, researchers strive to account for this gender gap in political representation (Swers, 2002; Fox and Lawless, 2004; Williams, 2008). In these questions underlies the notion that male-dominated institutions are not gender-neutral but promote gender norms that create barrier in women’s entrance in the political arena. Furthermore, this gender gap increases or decreases depending on the political institution. For instance in State Legislatures, about 24 percent of legislators are female, but at the federal level, only 18 percent of females are present in Congress (Center for American Women and Politics, 2013). As is common with most professions, as positions increase in prestige, there are fewer women present. These numbers point to the influence of institutional differences in women in office. In comparison, about 33 percent of the current U.S. Supreme Court (USSC) Justices are women, and women compose roughly 35 percent of State Supreme Courts (CAWP, 2013). It appears, then, on the surface that there is more gender equality in the judiciary than in legislative bodies. What accounts for these differences between institutions? What are the institutional norms that promote or limit gender equality? Why do State Supreme Courts have more even representation of women? In this paper, I analyze the impact of selection processes on gender equality at the state judiciary. I will also evaluate the relationship between eligibility pools and the presence of women on both the state and federal courts. Overall, I hope to explain how institutional factors, like judge selection processes, affect the presence of women in the judiciary. Moreover, this paper replicates a study by Kenney and Windett (2013) which uses similar data and methods. However, my study focuses more on the effects of institutional design, via the selection processes, as opposed to the impact of political culture and diffusion of innovation from other states. Theoretical Argument To begin, I will examine the different selection processes while also accounting for other potential variables that are likely to affect the distribution of women on the courts. There are a variety of mechanisms used to select candidates for judgeships. Election and appointment are the most frequently used methods, but a hybrid of these two selection processes is also common (The Fund for Modern Courts, 2012). To begin, judges may be selected by different elective styles- including partisan, nonpartisan, legislative, and judicial elections. In both the partisan and nonpartisan elections, the public votes to determine the future judge – the main difference is the presence [or absence] of political parties. Currently, eight states use partisan elections to select new judges at the State Supreme Court (SSC) level, while fifteen use nonpartisan elections (American Judicature Society, 2013). In legislative elections, the judges are elected by a vote of the legislature, but this method is only used by two states, South Carolina and Virginia, at the Supreme Court level. At other levels of the state judiciary system, judicial elections are used where the judge selection is based on a consensus of judges (Tokarz, 1986). In this analysis, however, there are not any judges selected using this judicial selection method, but I mention its use in order to clarify the processes of judge selection. WOMEN IN THE JUDCIARY 3 Additionally, judges may be selected via appointment. These appointments can be made by the chief executive [either the Governor or President depending on the level of government]. An “executive appointment” system allows the chief executive to be assisted by a bar associatio