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Using numerical indices, this study describes and analyzes the relationship between governors and attorneys general in regard to formal powers. An index of formal power for each office is presented and divided into high and low categories. In examining the relationship between the formal powers of the two offices, the fifty states fall into four patterns for the combinations of formal power. Each of the power combinations suggests either greater competition or cooperation between these two important constitutional officers. The relationship of the formal power of the two offices is one significant factor which has implications for the governor's leadership in the executive branch.

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The number of women who have served on a state Supreme Court is not representative of the number of women lawyers in the United States. Even fewer women have achieved the position of Chief Justice. Lenore Prather is one of three women Chief Justices in the southern United States. This article applies judicial scholarship on career background, selection process, and decision making to compare Prather's experience to that of male colleagues on her Court and other women justices. Also, Prather's service as Chief Justice is compared to that of Chief Justice Susie Sharp of North Carolina. This study of Prather confirms significant findings about women judges, but it also requires caveats. The analysis of her decision‐making places Prather in a centralist position on her Court. Both Prather and Sharp may be described as having a “mixed voice” role orientation in their case decision making, yet there are interesting differences between them.

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