The federal government has long used grants-in-aid to encourage state and local governments to carry out federal policies. Little research has been done that examines how short-term seed grants affect program continuation. We propose the “fly ball effect” as a theoretical framework for...

While much has been made of the financial crisis affecting state courts in the early 2000s, there has been little research on court budgeting and the politics that affect it, especially concerning factors that lead to budgetary success. In this study we assess the determinants of budget success...

Douglas and Hartley provide data that indicates that drug courts face budgetary and resource hurdles in their effort to become institutionalized reforms to courts. Drug courts commonly adopt what the authors call "hodgepodege budgeting" strategies where ingenuity, opportunity, and luck seperate...

This article seeks to explain the development and use of group field projects to analyze real-world public policy disputes in a course on conflict management. In the process of learning about the evolution of disputes, their management, and techniques for resolution, students are assigned to...

The American Judiciary faces a "catch 22". As an independent branch, courts are expected to remain "above" politics, yet they must enter the political process to obtain their resources, to fight for and against policies that might impact them, and to even repel attacks on their power. The...

This article explores state court budgetary strategies and their effectiveness in the appropriations process as perceived by key budgeting actors. In general, we find evidence of state judiciaries that try to remain “above politics” when dealing with budget issues. The most important...

Courts face a "catch-22" as a independent branch. On one hand court officials feel the need to remain "above politics" in order to secure the legitimacy of the branch and to remain independent. On other hand, courts must negotiate the very political budget process, interact effectively with the...