Judicial Selection Methods and Public Perceptions of Judicial Impartiality

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Steach, Hunter
Area of Honors:
Political Science
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Michael J Nelson, Thesis Supervisor
Michael Barth Berkman, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
judicial impartiality
judicial legitimacy
public perceptions of judicial impartiality
judicial selection methods
judicial selection methods and public perceptions of judicial impartiality
agreement with courts
agreement with courts and public perceptions of judicial impartiality
Abstract:
Do judicial selection methods and agreement with court decisions influence public perceptions of judicial impartiality? Existing research offers mixed conclusions, with some studies arguing that judicial elections politicize courts and reduce public confidence, while others find little effect of selection systems on institutional legitimacy. In contrast, this study argues that perceptions of judicial impartiality are driven less by institutional design and more by whether individuals agree with judicial outcomes. Using an original national survey of U.S. adults that combines observational measures of state court perceptions with an experimental vignette manipulating judicial selection method and decision outcome, this theory is tested directly. The results indicate that beliefs about whether judges are elected have no statistically significant effect on perceived impartiality, whereas disagreement with a court’s decision substantially reduces perceptions of fairness. These findings suggest that citizens evaluate courts primarily through their decision-making, leading to important implications for debates over judicial institutional reform and what factors influence public confidence in the judiciary.