State Courts

Why Are State Judges Among Us?

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Vol. 100 No. 2 (2016) | A Judge in Public Life

A considerable number of judges are stepping away from the bench and their chambers in order to interact with the public through judicial outreach activities. Why? We execute a nationwide survey […]

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Crossing the line? Recent ethics cases show that the line between personal and judicial conduct can be blurred

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Vol. 100 No. 3 (2016) | Who appointed me god?

Not all extrajudicial conduct on which the public may frown has been considered sanctionable in judicial discipline proceedings; after all, as Robert Louis Stevenson wrote in The Strange Case of Dr. […]

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The Fluidity of Judicial Coalitions

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Vol. 100 No. 3 (2016) | Who appointed me god?

A surprising look at coalitions within the supreme courts of the United States and Indiana In June 2001, the United States Supreme Court decided three closely watched deportation cases by […]

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Up, Down, All Around

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Vol. 100 No. 3 (2016) | Who appointed me god?

Legislative proposals to change state supreme court compositions gaining popularity The last decade has seen a dramatic uptick in legislative efforts to change the composition of state courts of last […]

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How the States Avoid Supreme Stalemates

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Vol. 100 No. 4 (2016) | Steady As She Goes

State high courts avoid tie votes in a variety of ways, some more juris-prudent than others. Justice Antonin Scalia’s passing portends a seismic realtering of the Supreme Court’s ideological balance. […]

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From the Editor-in-Chief Cheri Beasley

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Vol. 100 No. 4 (2016) | Steady As She Goes

The ability to pay court fines, including jail and prison fees, has remained an issue since Michigan first authorized the imposition of correctional fees in 1846.1 Today, many courts order […]

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Money or Justice? How Fees and Fines Have Contributed to Distrust and What Chief Justices Can Do About It

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Vol. 100 No. 4 (2016) | Steady As She Goes

Duke Law Dean David F. Levi recently convened a roundtable discussion among leaders of a national task force that aims to study and address the courts’ role in the problems […]

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Judges Can Fix the System: Here’s How

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Vol. 100 No. 4 (2016) | Steady As She Goes

Melissa J. Showed up in my court last year with four kids in tow. Her children quietly watched from a nearby table while I spoke with her. The charges against […]

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Disorder in the Courts: The varied ways states establish and oversee courts presents challenges for reform

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Vol. 100 No. 4 (2016) | Steady As She Goes

Limited jurisdiction courts are coming under new scrutiny and criticism amid calls for criminal justice reform. The Department of Justice’s report on police and court practices in the city of […]

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What do Americans want in their state judges?

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Vol. 105 No. 1 (2021) | The Courts Held

As scholars regularly document,1 states have frequently changed their systems of judicial selection and retention. What remains unknown is whether these systems actually address the kinds of qualities citizens value […]

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