Judge Peer Effects in the Courthouse

We investigate whether consequential decisions made by judges are impacted by observable characteristics of peer judges. We utilize the universe of decisions on juvenile defendants in each courthouse in a Southern state over fifteen years. Leveraging random assignment of cases to judges, and variations in judge peer composition generated by judicial turnover, we show that an increase in the proportion of female peers in the courthouse causes a rise in individual judges’ propensity to incarcerate, and an increase in prison time. This effect is driven by female judges. Further analysis suggests that this behavior of female judges is likely due to the sheer exposure to female colleagues.