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Women's Representation on State Trial and Appellate Courts *
Author(s) -
Williams Margaret
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2007.00498.x
Subject(s) - ideology , representation (politics) , state (computer science) , political science , selection (genetic algorithm) , affect (linguistics) , law , sociology , computer science , politics , communication , algorithm , artificial intelligence
Objective. This article examines the factors affecting women's representation at each level of the state judiciary. Methods. Using extended beta‐binomial and Poisson models, this article determines the effects of judicial selection, state ideology, and the pool of women eligible to serve on state trial and appellate courts. Results. I find that the pool of women eligible to serve, state ideology, and some methods of judicial selection affect the number of women serving on state courts. Conclusions. By modeling the process on the two courts differently, I find that the factors affecting trial courts are not necessarily the same as those affecting women's representation on appellate courts. Because of the differences in the two levels of the judiciary, future analysis should consider how these two levels influence individual decisions to seek a seat on state courts.