State judiciaries are foundational institutions of governance in the United States. They are coequal, policy-making branches of government whose members, along with the legislative and executive branches, are constitutionally authorized and empowered in all fifty American states. Extant research on judicial selection in the American states provides neither a comprehensive theory of why states choose their particular judicial selection method nor a comprehensive empirical assessment of this important question. This research seeks to fill this lacuna by increasing understanding of American state courts through the formulation of a theory of state judicial selection, a short but comprehensive history of state judicial selection reform, and an event history analysis of the adoption of merit selection by states for choosing judges to their courts of last.
The major finding is that, similar to other institutional arrangements, state judicial selection methods are highly path dependent. Once established, they are on a trajectory which is difficult to alter. An important secondary finding is that lawyers play a significant role in bringing about judicial selection reform when and where the possibility of change arises. They are incentivized actors who historically have taken the lead in judicial selection reform efforts. Geography also seems to be an influential factor in judicial selection reform, suggesting that reform-minded states take cues and learn and from their neighbors.
","abstract_html":"<p>State judiciaries are foundational institutions of governance in the United States. They are coequal, policy-making branches of government whose members, along with the legislative and executive branches, are constitutionally authorized and empowered in all fifty American states. Extant research on judicial selection in the American states provides neither a comprehensive theory of why states choose their particular judicial selection method nor a comprehensive empirical assessment of this important question. This research seeks to fill this lacuna by increasing understanding of American state courts through the formulation of a theory of state judicial selection, a short but comprehensive history of state judicial selection reform, and an event history analysis of the adoption of merit selection by states for choosing judges to their courts of last.</p> <p>The major finding is that, similar to other institutional arrangements, state judicial selection methods are highly path dependent. Once established, they are on a trajectory which is difficult to alter. An important secondary finding is that lawyers play a significant role in bringing about judicial selection reform when and where the possibility of change arises. They are incentivized actors who historically have taken the lead in judicial selection reform efforts. Geography also seems to be an influential factor in judicial selection reform, suggesting that reform-minded states take cues and learn and from their neighbors.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gleason, James A"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Political Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Eric N. Waltenburg","William P. McLauchlan","Yvonne M. Pitts","Jerry L. Polinard","William R. Shaffer"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:54:09Z","subjects":["Social sciences","Judicial","Merit","Methods","Selection","State","Political Science"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/983","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Eric N. Waltenburg","William P. McLauchlan","Yvonne M. Pitts","Jerry L. Polinard","William R. Shaffer"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gleason, James A"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Social sciences","Judicial","Merit","Methods","Selection","State","Political Science"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/983"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["State judiciaries are foundational institutions of governance in the United States. They are coequal, policy-making branches of government whose members, along with the legislative and executive branches, are constitutionally authorized and empowered in all fifty American states. Extant research on judicial selection in the American states provides neither a comprehensive theory of why states choose their particular judicial selection method nor a comprehensive empirical assessment of this important question. This research seeks to fill this lacuna by increasing understanding of American state courts through the formulation of a theory of state judicial selection, a short but comprehensive history of state judicial selection reform, and an event history analysis of the adoption of merit selection by states for choosing judges to their courts of last.
The major finding is that, similar to other institutional arrangements, state judicial selection methods are highly path dependent. Once established, they are on a trajectory which is difficult to alter. An important secondary finding is that lawyers play a significant role in bringing about judicial selection reform when and where the possibility of change arises. They are incentivized actors who historically have taken the lead in judicial selection reform efforts. Geography also seems to be an influential factor in judicial selection reform, suggesting that reform-minded states take cues and learn and from their neighbors.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["State judicial selection methods as public policy: The Missouri plan"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Eric N. Waltenburg","William P. McLauchlan","Yvonne M. Pitts","Jerry L. Polinard","William R. Shaffer"],"dc:creator":["Gleason, James A"],"dc:description.abstract":["State judiciaries are foundational institutions of governance in the United States. They are coequal, policy-making branches of government whose members, along with the legislative and executive branches, are constitutionally authorized and empowered in all fifty American states. Extant research on judicial selection in the American states provides neither a comprehensive theory of why states choose their particular judicial selection method nor a comprehensive empirical assessment of this important question. This research seeks to fill this lacuna by increasing understanding of American state courts through the formulation of a theory of state judicial selection, a short but comprehensive history of state judicial selection reform, and an event history analysis of the adoption of merit selection by states for choosing judges to their courts of last.
The major finding is that, similar to other institutional arrangements, state judicial selection methods are highly path dependent. Once established, they are on a trajectory which is difficult to alter. An important secondary finding is that lawyers play a significant role in bringing about judicial selection reform when and where the possibility of change arises. They are incentivized actors who historically have taken the lead in judicial selection reform efforts. Geography also seems to be an influential factor in judicial selection reform, suggesting that reform-minded states take cues and learn and from their neighbors.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/983"],"dc:subject":["Social sciences","Judicial","Merit","Methods","Selection","State","Political Science"],"dc:title":["State judicial selection methods as public policy: The Missouri plan"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Political Science"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:54:09Z"}