We contribute to the literature on judicial independence and performance in the states by analyzing opinion clarity. Written opinions are the primary means of communication for state supreme court justices, and clarity is a core component of judicial performance. Using automated text analysis on a sample of state supreme court opinions from all 50 states, we find that variation in judicial retention systems is not associated with substantively meaningful differences in opinion clarity. Furthermore, elected judges do not seem to produce clearer opinions in salient cases notwithstanding the increased public visibility of those decisions. These results suggest that judges tend to conform to prevailing professional norms despite differing institutional pressures.
AldisertRuggero J.RaschMeehanBartlettMatthew P.2009. “Opinion Writing and Opinion Readers.” Cardozo Law Review31:1–44.
2.
AlozieNicholas O.1988. “Black Representation on State Judiciaries.” Social Science Quarterly69 (4): 979–86.
3.
BaumLawrence. 2006. Judges and Their Audiences: A Perspective on Judicial Behavior. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
4.
BellGriffin B.1966. “Style in Judicial Writing.” Journal of Public Law15:214–19.
5.
BerkowitzDaniel M.ClayKaren. 2006. “The Effect of Judicial Independence on Courts: Evidence from the American States.” Journal of Legal Studies35 (2): 399–400.
6.
BerryWilliam D.RingquistEvan J.FordingRichard C.HansonRussell L.1998. “Measuring Citizen and Government Ideology in the American States, 1960-93.” American Journal of Political Science42:327–48.
7.
BlackRyan C.TreulSarah A.JohnsonTimothy R.GoldmanJerry. 2011. “Emotions, Oral Arguments, and Supreme Court Decision Making.” Journal of Politics73:572–81.
8.
BonneauChris. 2004. “Patterns of Campaign Spending and Electoral Competition in State Supreme Court Elections.” Justice System Journal25:21–38.
9.
BonneauChris. 2005. “Electoral Verdicts: Incumbent Defeats in State Supreme Court Elections.” American Politics Research33:818–41.
10.
BonneauChrisHallMelinda G.2009. In Defense of Judicial Elections. New York: Routledge.
11.
BracePaulBoyeaBrent D.2008. “State Public Opinion, the Death Penalty, and the Practice of Electing Judges.” American Journal of Political Science52:360–72.
12.
BracePaulLangerLauraHallMelinda G.2000. “Measuring the Preferences of State Supreme Court Judges.” Journal of Politics62:387–413.
13.
BracePaulYatesJeffBoyeaBrent D.2012. “Judges, Litigants, and the Design of Courts.” Law & Society Review46:497–522.
14.
Brown v. Board of Education II, 349 U.S. 294. 1955.
15.
CannDamon M.2007. “Beyond Accountability and Independence: Judicial Selection and State Court Performance.” Judicature90:226–32.
16.
CannDamon M.WilhelmTeena. 2011. “Case Visibility and the Electoral Connection in State Supreme Courts.” American Politics Research39:557–81.
17.
ChoiStephen J.GulatiG. MituPosnerEric A.2010. “Professionals or Politicians: The Uncertain Empirical Case for an Elected Rather than Appointed Judiciary.” Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization26:290–336.
18.
ClarkTom S.CarrubbaClifford J.2012. “A Theory of Opinion Writing in a Political Hierarchy.” Journal of Politics74:584–603.
19.
CoffeyDaniel. 2005. “Measuring Gubernatorial Ideology: A Content Analysis of State of the State Speeches.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly5:88–103.
20.
CohenJacob. 1988. Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. 2nd ed.Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum.
21.
ColemanBradyPhungQuy. 2010. “The Language of Supreme Court Briefs: A Large-scale Quantitative Investigation.” Journal of Appellate Practice & Process11:75–103.
22.
CollinsPaul M.Jr.2008. Friends of the Court: Interest Groups and Judicial Decision Making. New York: Oxford University Press.
23.
CorleyPamela C.CollinsPaul M.Jr.CalvinBryan. 2011. “Lower Court Influence on U.S. Supreme Court Opinion Content.” Journal of Politics71:31–44.
24.
DunnOlive J.1961. “Multiple Comparisons among Means.” Journal of the American Statistical Association56:52–64.
25.
EmmertCraig F.GlickHenry R.1988. “The Selection of State Supreme Court Justices.” American Politics Quarterly16:445–65.
26.
FarberDaniel A.2005. “Supreme Court Selection and Measures of Past Judicial Performance.” Florida State University Law Review32:1175–96.
27.
FaulFranzErdfelderEdgarBuchnerAxelLangAlbert-Georg. 2009. “Statistical Power Analyses Using G*Power 3.1: Tests for Correlation and Regression Analyses.” Behavior Research Methods41:1149–60.
28.
FinnSeth. 1985. “Unpredictability as Correlate of Reader Enjoyment of News Articles.” Journalism Mass Communication Quarterly62:334–45.
29.
FleschRudolph. 1948. “A New Readability Yardstick.” Journal of Applied Psychology32:221–33.
30.
GarnerBryan A.2002. The Elements of Legal Style. 2nd ed.New York: Oxford University Press.
31.
GeorgeJoyce J.2006. The Judicial Opinion Writing Handbook. 5th ed.New York: William S. Hein.
32.
GeyhCharles. 2003. “Why Judicial Elections Stink.” Ohio State Law Journal64:43–79.
33.
GibsonJames L.1978. “Judges’ Role Orientations, Attitudes, and Decisions: An Interactive Model.” American Political Science Review72:911–24.
34.
GibsonJames L.2012. Electing Judges: The Surprising Effects of Campaigning on Judicial Legitimacy. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
35.
GlickHenryEmmertCraig. 1987. “Selection Systems and Judicial Characteristics: The Recruitment of State Supreme Court Justices.” Judicature70:228–35.
36.
GoelzhauserGreg. 2011. “Diversifying State Supreme Courts.”Law Society Review45:761–81.
37.
GoelzhauserGreg. 2012. “Accountability and Judicial Performance: Evidence from Case Dispositions.” Justice System Journal33:249–61.
38.
GoldschmidtJona. 1994. “Merit Selection: Current Status, Procedures, and Issues.” University of Miami Law Review49:1–126.
39.
HallMelinda G.1987. “Constituent Influence in State Supreme Courts: Conceptual Notes and a Case Study.” Journal of Politics49:1117–24.
40.
HallMelinda G.1995. “Justices as Representatives: Elections and Judicial Politics in the American States.” American Politics Quarterly23:485–503.
41.
HallMelinda G.2001. “State Supreme Courts in American Democracy: Probing the Myths of Judicial Reform.” American Political Science Review95:315–30.
42.
HallMelinda G.2007. “Competition as Accountability in State Supreme Court Elections.” In Running for Judge, ed. StrebMatthewNew York: New York University Press. Pp. 165-85.
43.
HurwitzMark S.LanierDrew N.2003. “Explaining Judicial Diversity: The Differential Ability of Women and Minorities to Attain Seats on State Supreme and Appellate Courts.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly3:329–52.
44.
HurwitzMark S.LanierDrew N.2008. “Diversity in State and Federal Appellate Courts: Change and Continuity across 20 Years.” Justice System Journal29:47–70.
45.
KaplowLouis. 1992. “Rules versus Standards: An Economic Analysis.” Duke Law Journal42:557–629.
46.
LangerLaura. 2002. Judicial Review in State Supreme Courts: A Comparative Study. Albany: State University of New York Press.
47.
LawDavid S.ZaringDavid. 2010. “Law versus Ideology: The Supreme Court and the Use of Legislative History.” William and Mary Law Review51:1653–747.
48.
LaxJeffrey R.CameronCharles M.2007. “Bargaining and Opinion Assignment on the US Supreme Court.” Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization23:276–302.
49.
LebovitsGerald. 2004. “Free at Last from Obscurity: Clarity—Part 2.” New York Bar Association Journal76: 64.
50.
LowreyTina M.2006. “The Relation between Script Complexity and Commercial Memorability.” Journal of Advertising35:7–15.
51.
MarshallWilliam P.2004. “Be Careful What You Wish For: The Problems with Using Empirical Rankings to Select Supreme Court Justices.” Southern California Law Review78:119–36.
52.
MilneGeorge R.CulnanMary J.GreeneHenry. 2006. “A Longitudinal Assessment of Online Privacy Notice Readability.” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing25:238–49.
53.
NelsonMichael J.2013. “Elections and Explanations: Judicial Elections and the Readability of Judicial Opinions.” Working Paper available online at http://mjnelson.wustl.edu/research.html.
54.
OwensRyan J.WedekingJustin P.2011. “Justices and Legal Clarity: Analyzing the Complexity of U.S. Supreme Court Opinions.”Law & Society Review45:1027–61.
55.
OwensRyan J.WedekingJustinWohlfarthPatrick C.2013. “How the Supreme Court Alters Opinion Language to Evade Congressional Review.” Journal of Law and Courts1:35–59.
56.
PosnerRichard A.1993. “What Do Judges Maximize? (The Same Thing Everybody Else Does).” Supreme Court Economic Review3:1–41.
57.
PosnerRichard A.2005. “Judicial Behavior and Performance: An Economic Approach.” Florida State University Law Review32:1259–79.
58.
ReillyShaunaRicheySean. 2011. “Ballot Question Readability and Roll-off: The Impact of Language Complexity.” Political Research Quarterly64:59–67.
59.
SchroederNicholasAggarwalRajGibsonCharles. 1991. “Financial Reporting by Japanese Firms on the NYSE: An Analysis of Linguistic Content.” Management Information Review31:233–51.
60.
SchroederNicholasGibsonCharles. 1990. “Readability of Management’s Discussion and Analysis.” Accounting Horizons4:78–87.
61.
SolumLawrence B.2005. “A Tournament of Virtue.” Florida State University Law Review32:1365–1400.
62.
SpriggsJames F.II. 1997. “Explaining Federal Bureaucratic Compliance with Supreme Court Opinions.” Political Research Quarterly50:567–93.
63.
SquirePeverill. 2008. “Measuring the Professionalization of U.S. State Courts of Last Resort.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly223–38.
64.
StatonJeffrey K.2010. Judicial Power and Strategic Communication in Mexico. New York: Cambridge University Press.
StatonJeffrey K.VanbergGeorg. 2008. “The Value of Vagueness: Delegation, Defiance, and Judicial Opinions.” American Journal of Political Science52:514–9.
67.
StewartJosephJr.HeckEdward V.1987. “Caseloads and Controversies: A Different Perspective on the Overburdened U.S. Supreme Court.” Justice System Journal12:370–83.
68.
TerrisFay. 1949. “Are Poll Questions Too Difficult?” Public Opinion Quarterly13:314–19.
69.
Torres-SpelliscyCiaraChaseMoniqueGreenmanEmma. 2008. Improving Judicial Diversity. New York: Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School.
70.
VickreyWilliam C.DentonDouglas G.JeffersonWallace B.n.d. Opinions as the Voice of the Court: How State Supreme Courts Can Communicate Effectively and Promote Procedural Fairness. Williamsburg, VA. National Center for State Courts.
71.
ViningRichard L.Jr.WilhelmTeena. 2011. “Measuring Case Salience in State Courts of Last Resort.” Political Research Quarterly64:559–72.
72.
WaldPatricia M.1995. “Rhetoric of Results and the Results of Rhetoric.” University of Chicago Law Review62:1371–420.
73.
WandererNancy A.2002. “Writing Better Opinions: Communicating with Candor, Clarity, and Style.” Maine Law Review54:47–70.
74.
WanderseeJames H.ClaryRenee M.2007. “Learning the Trail: A Content Analysis of a University Arboretum’s Exemplary Interpretive, Science Signage System.” American Biology Teacher69:16–23.
75.
WeinbergMicah. 2010. “Measuring Governors’ Political Orientations Using Words as Data.” State Politics & Policy Quarterly10:96–109.
76.
WydickRichard C.2005. Plain English for Lawyers. 5th ed.Durham: Carolina Academic Press.
77.
YatesJeffTankersleyHolleyBracePaul. 2010. “Assessing the Impact of State Judicial Structures on Citizen Litigiousness.” Political Research Quarterly63:797–810.
