Eagle Feather

Author: Leticia Longmiles

Faculty Mentor: James Meernik, Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Texas

Department and College Affiliation: Department of Political Science, Prairie View A&M University

Bio: Leticia Longmiles is a senior majoring in Political Science with a minor in Criminal Justice at Prairie View A&M University. Since the fall of 2009, she has participated in student government. She was elected Senator of Social and Behavioral Sciences in 2009. Last year, she was appointed vice president of Auxiliary Services, which is a position that she will continue until graduation. She is the founder of S.O.U.L.S (Society of Undergraduates Interested in Law School), and is an active member of the Criminal Justice Club. Upon graduating, she plans to pursue a dual JD and MS degree in political science.

Abstract: This cross-sectional study suggests that in many nations in Africa, an independent judiciary does not have a significant impact on a country’s human rights record contrary to the findings of previous work on judicial independence and human rights. While the other usual suspects behave as expected, an independent judiciary actually appears to have a random relationship to states’ human rights behavior. This curious finding suggests that perhaps an independent judiciary is not as crucial to the establishment of democratic norms in transitioning societies as we might expect. Research was conducted to build upon present studies to indicate whether there is an existing relationship between judicial independence and human rights violations. The focus on Africa is to determine what is substantially responsible for controlling the human rights violations that occur within this region.