Attacking Judges: How Campaign Advertising Influences State Supreme Court Elections

by Melinda Gann Hall

Overview

Nasty, below-the-belt campaigns, mudslinging, and character attacks. These tactics have become part and parcel of today's election politics in America, and judicial elections are no exception. Attacking Judges takes a close look at the effects of televised advertising, including harsh attacks, on state supreme court elections. Author Melinda Gann Hall investigates whether these divisive elections have damaging consequences for representative democracy. To do this, Hall focuses on two key aspects of those elections: the vote shares of justices seeking reelection and the propensity of state electorates to vote. In doing so, Attacking Judges explores vital dimensions of the conventional wisdom that campaign politics has deleterious consequences for judges, voters, and state judiciaries.

Countering the prevailing wisdom with empirically based conclusions, Hall uncovers surprising and important insights, including new revelations on how attack ads influence public engagement with judicial elections and their relative effectiveness in various types of state elections. Attacking Judges is a testament to the power of institutions in American politics and the value of empirical political science research in helping to inform some of the most significant debates on the public agenda. This book's results smartly contest and eradicate many of the fears judicial reformers have about the damaging effects of campaign negativity in modern state supreme court elections.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804793087
Publisher:	Stanford University Press
Publication date:	10/29/2014
Series:	Stanford Studies in Law and Politics
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Melinda Gann Hall is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University. She is the coauthor (with Chris Bonneau) of In Defense of Judicial Elections.

Table of Contents

Tables and Figures ix

Preface and Acknowledgments xiii

1 Attacking Judges: Another Dimension of Campaign Negativity in American Politics 1

2 State Supreme Court Elections in Contemporary Democracy 25

3 Campaign Advertising in State Supreme Court Elections 65

4 Attack Advertising and Electoral Support for State Supreme Court Justices 95

5 Attack Advertising and Citizen Participation in State Supreme Court Elections 127

6 State Supreme Court Elections Are Different-by Design 165

Notes 185

References 211

Index 223

Editorial Reviews

"Attacking Judges is unquestionably a major contribution to the literature on state courts and campaign advertising. Melinda Gann Hall expertly connects research on judicial elections to social scientists' broader concerns about how campaigning affects citizens and the electoral process in general. This impressive book is among the first to give judicial elections the serious scholarly attention they deserve. It's a must read!"—James L. Gibson, Washington Universityin St. Louis

"Attacking Judges is a first-rate book with important implications for the ongoing debate over judicial selection and retention. Hall's timely study of this controversial issue is a superb example of how quantitative analysis can inform both academic and political debates."—Herbert M. Kritzer, University of Minnesota Law School

From the Publisher

"Attacking Judges is a first-rate book with important implications for the ongoing debate over judicial selection and retention. Hall's timely study of this controversial issue is a superb example of how quantitative analysis can inform both academic and political debates."

University of Minnesota Law School - Herbert M. Kritzer

"Attacking Judges is unquestionably a major contribution to the literature on state courts and campaign advertising. Melinda Gann Hall expertly connects research on judicial elections to social scientists' broader concerns about how campaigning affects citizens and the electoral process in general. This impressive book is among the first to give judicial elections the serious scholarly attention they deserve. It's a must read!"

Washington Universityin St. Louis - James L. Gibson