Undergraduate Honors Thesis
The Effect of Judicial Elections on California Tort Law: A Study in Public Choice Public Deposited
https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/6t053g68m
- Abstract
- This thesis examines the relationship between contested judicial elections and the value of total damages in product liability trials. For years, legal scholars have argued that judicial elections pose a direct threat to a judge's impartiality, but this thesis is one of only a few studies to observe judicial elections' quantitative effects on the application of law. Narrowing the focus of this thesis to a set of particularly competitive California Superior Court elections in 1982, this thesis evaluates judicial behavior through difference-in-differences (diff-in-diff) analysis. The major findings of this study are as follows: 1) Controlling for relevant variables, contested judicial elections are associated with a statistically significant increase in product liability awards stemming from Californian jury trials. 2) I conclude that legal economists must tailor empirical analysis to the practical as well as institutional incentive structures facing elected judges. 3) Finally, I suggest a theoretical model of judicial vote-maximization to inform future research.
- Creator
- Date Awarded
- 2015-01-01
- Academic Affiliation
- Advisor
- Committee Member
- Granting Institution
- Subject
- Last Modified
- 2019-12-02
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Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Visibility | Actions |
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theEffectOfJudicialElectionsOnCaliforniaTortLawAStudy.pdf | 2019-12-02 | Public | Download |