ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on three areas of change—judicial reforms, the increasing presence of women and minorities on the states' courts, and an increased willingness on the part of many state supreme courts to make public policy. In addition, efforts have been made to increase the rate at which women and minorities serve on state courts. There is also some evidence that many of the states' courts are seeking to play a more prominent policymaking role, joining the ranks of governors and legislators in fashioning innovative solutions to state policy problems. Despite the often substantial changes that have occurred in state judicial systems, women, blacks, and other minorities still make up a very small percentage of those who serve on the bench. Tort reform—in particular, product liability law—has long been the subject of state court rulings. Educational and tort reforms are just two of several areas in which the courts have precipitated larger and far-reaching changes in state policy.
