Running for Judge: The Rising Political, Financial, and Legal Stakes of Judicial Elections

Across the country, races for judgeships are becoming more and more politically contested. As a result, several states and cities are now considering judicial election reform. Running for Judge examines the increasingly contentious judicial elections over the last twenty-five years by providing a timely, insightful analysis of judicial elections. The book ties together the current state of the judicial elections literature, and presents new evidence on a wide range of important topics, including: the history of judicial elections; an understanding of the types of judicial elections; electoral competition during races; the increasing importance of campaign financing; voting in judicial elections; the role interest groups play in supporting candidates; party organizing in supposedly non-partisan elections; judicial accountability; media coverage; and judicial reform of elections.
Running for Judge is an engaging, accessible, empirical analysis of the major issues surrounding judicial elections, with contributions from prominent scholars in the fields of judicial politics, political behavior, and law.
Contributors: Lawrence Baum, Chris W. Bonneau, Brent D. Boyea, Paul Brace, Rachel P. Caufield, Jennifer Segal Diascro, Brian Frederick, Deborah Goldberg, Melinda Gann Hall, Richard L. Hasen, David Klein, Brian F. Schaffner, and Matthew J. Streb.

List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgments1 The Study of Judicial ElectionsMatthew J. Streb2 First Amendment Limits on Regulating Judicial Campaigns Richard L. Hasen3 The Changing Tone of Judicial Election Campaigns as a Result of White Rachel P. Cau?eld4 The Dynamics of Campaign Spending in State Supreme Court Elections Chris W. Bonneau5 Interest Group Participation in Judicial Elections Deborah Goldberg6 Partisan Involvement in Partisan and Nonpartisan Trial Court ElectionsMatthew J. Streb7 Judicial Elections in the NewsBrian F. Schaffner and Jennifer Segal Diascro8 Voter Responses to High-Visibility Judicial Campaigns Lawrence Baum and David Klein9 Competition as Accountability in State Supreme Court Elections Melinda Gann Hall10 Judicial Selection Methods and Capital Punishment in the American StatesPaul Brace and Brent D. Boyea11 Judicial Reform and the Future of Judicial Elections Matthew J. Streb and Brian FrederickBibliographyAbout the Contributors Index