Attacking Judges: How Campaign Advertising Influences State Supreme Court Elections

Melinda Gann Hall

Stanford University Press, Oct 29, 2014 - Law - 264 pages

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.

Contents

• Attacking Judges Another Dimension of Campaign Negativity in American Politics: 1
• State Supreme Court Elections in Contemporary Democracy: 25
• Campaign Advertising in State Supreme Court Elections: 65
• Attack Advertising and Electoral Support for State Supreme Court Justices: 95
• Attack Advertising and Citizen Participation in State Supreme Court Elections: 127
• State Supreme Court Elections Are Differentby Design: 165
• Notes: 185
• References: 211
• Index: 223

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.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Attacking Judges: How Campaign Advertising Influences State Supreme Court Elections; Stanford Studies in Law and Politics
• Author: Melinda Gann Hall
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Stanford University Press, 2014
• ISBN: 0804793093, 9780804793094
• Length: 264 pages
• Subjects: Law / Media & the Law