State Supreme Courts, Gender, and Decision Making: For Females, Is Two a Magic Number?

This paper assesses how the presence of a female state supreme court justice on a judicial panel affects the voting behavior of other females on a particular panel. Judicial research on the effect of female judges on judicial decision making have found mixed results as to whether female judges decide cases differently than their male colleagues, or whether female judges affect the decision making calculus of their male colleagues in any particular way. Little attention is given to how female judges influence other female judges and whether the presence of multiple females on a panel can ultimately lead to judicial policy outcomes that are female friendly. This analysis of state obscenity cases from 1982 to 2006 reveals that females differ significantly in their voting behavior based on whether or not there is another female judge on the same panel. This research gives credence to the concept of the "token justice" and sheds light on how many female judges may be necessary to significantly influence policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]