Assessing the Impact of State Judicial Structures on Citizen Litigiousness

Some researchers argue over the existence of a "litigation explosion," while others seek to understand the causes of variation in citizen legal mobilization and rates of litigation among states. Existing studies have provided important insight into citizens' propensity to invoke the s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Political research quarterly 2010-12, Vol.63 (4), p.796-810
Main Authors: Yates, Jeff, Tankersley, Holley, Brace, Paul
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attorneys
Citizens
Civil rights
Costs
Courts
Decision making
Disputes
Estimates
Ideology
Judges
Judicial system
Judiciary
Law
Liberalism
Litigants
Litigation
Mobilization
Plaintiffs
Political economy
Professionalism
State courts
State government
Torts
Trials
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Summary:Some researchers argue over the existence of a "litigation explosion," while others seek to understand the causes of variation in citizen legal mobilization and rates of litigation among states. Existing studies have provided important insight into citizens' propensity to invoke the state courts to settle disputes; however, there remain unresolved questions concerning state litigation rates. The authors argue that the structural aspects of state judicial systems, specifically the professionalism of the courts and method of judicial selection, have important implications for litigiousness. They further suggest that the effects of these institutional structural characteristics are conditioned on the political environment of the state in which they operate. The authors consider tort litigation rates in ten states over twenty years to assess the proposition that these institutional structural characteristics of state court systems affect state citizen legal mobilization, expressed as litigation rates.
ISSN:1065-9129
1938-274X
DOI:10.1177/1065912909336271