NCJ Number
174662
Journal
Justice System Journal Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: 1997 Pages: 1-16
Date Published
1997
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study documented the extent of judge turnover on State high courts.
Abstract
Using a database of 672 justices who completed their careers on one of the 42 State supreme courts studied, this article presents the turnover rates by years and by State; all subjects completed their judicial careers between 1960 and 1992. There was some variation in judge turnover over the years, but with the exception of 1972, the turnover rate was stable. Moreover, despite the fact that few State court justices were granted life tenure, their turnover rates were lower than those of the lower Federal courts. The examination of turnover rates by States showed substantial variability, but there was little relationship between the type of judge selection system and high-court turnover. There were similar findings for the alternative measure: length of tenure. No statistically significant differences in length of tenure on the courts were found among the various methods of judge recruitment. Consistent with previous work on selection systems and recruitment patterns, there were significant differences by region. Midwestern justices, with a mean tenure of 12.9 years, served the longest. Justices in western States had the briefest tenure, with a mean of 10.2 years. More research is needed to assess the influence of factors peculiar to the various regions and the individual judges on their decisions to leave State supreme courts. 8 tables and 30 references