This project addresses the question of whether the judiciary is a representative part of state government. I will examine whether state high court justices, as other political actors, are influenced by constituency opinion in their decision-making process. I contend that popular elections provide an incentive to hold the justices more accountable to the electorate and comparing the impact of public opinion on the votes of state supreme court justices from a diverse set of electoral arrangements will help to understand the democratic nature of the judiciary. This dissertation will contribute to the literature on the role of public opinion in the policy process, the effect of institutional design on elite behavior, and the impact of judicial selection and retention reforms.
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