The Choices Justices Make

Author : Lee Epstein,Jack Knight
Publisher : SAGE
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 1997-01-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781483304854

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The Choices Justices Make by Lee Epstein,Jack Knight Pdf

The Choices Justices Make is a groundbreaking work that offers a strategic account of Supreme Court decision making. Justices realize that their ability to achieve their policy and other goals depends on the preferences of other actors, the choices they expect others to make, and the institutional context in which they act. All these factors hold sway over justices as they make their decisions, from which cases to accept, to how to interact with their colleagues, and what policies to adopt in their opinions. Choices is a thought-provoking, yet nontechnical work that is an ideal supplement for judicial process and public law courses. In addition to offering a unique and sustained theoretical account, the authors tell a fascinating story of how the Court works. Data culled from the Court's public records and from the private papers of Justices Brennan, Douglas, Marshall, and Powell provide empirical evidence to support the central argument, while numerous examples from the justices' papers animate the work.

Author : Lee Epstein,William M. Landes,Richard A. Posner
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 491 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2013-01-07
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780674070684

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The Behavior of Federal Judges by Lee Epstein,William M. Landes,Richard A. Posner Pdf

Judges play a central role in the American legal system, but their behavior as decision-makers is not well understood, even among themselves. The system permits judges to be quite secretive (and most of them are), so indirect methods are required to make sense of their behavior. Here, a political scientist, an economist, and a judge work together to construct a unified theory of judicial decision-making. Using statistical methods to test hypotheses, they dispel the mystery of how judicial decisions in district courts, circuit courts, and the Supreme Court are made. The authors derive their hypotheses from a labor-market model, which allows them to consider judges as they would any other economic actors: as self-interested individuals motivated by both the pecuniary and non-pecuniary aspects of their work. In the authors' view, this model describes judicial behavior better than either the traditional “legalist” theory, which sees judges as automatons who mechanically apply the law to the facts, or the current dominant theory in political science, which exaggerates the ideological component in judicial behavior. Ideology does figure into decision-making at all levels of the federal judiciary, the authors find, but its influence is not uniform. It diminishes as one moves down the judicial hierarchy from the Supreme Court to the courts of appeals to the district courts. As The Behavior of Federal Judges demonstrates, the good news is that ideology does not extinguish the influence of other components in judicial decision-making. Federal judges are not just robots or politicians in robes.

Author : Walter F. Murphy
Publisher : Quid Pro Books
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2016-06-01
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781610273541

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Elements of Judicial Strategy by Walter F. Murphy Pdf

Author : Kevin T. McGuire
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 387 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2012-03-15
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781136650017

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New Directions in Judicial Politics by Kevin T. McGuire Pdf

With its often vague legal concepts and institutions that operate according to unfamiliar procedures, judicial decision-making is, in many respects, a highly enigmatic process. New Directions in Judicial Politics seeks to demystify the courts, offering readers the insights of empirical research to address questions that are of genuine interest to students. In addition to presenting a set of conclusions about the way in which courts operate, this book also models the craft of political research, illustrating how one can account for a variety of factors that might affect the courts and how they operate. The renowned scholars and teachers in this volume invite critical thinking, not only about the substance of law and courts in America, but also about the ways in which we study judicial politics.

Author : Linda Greenhouse
Publisher : Random House Trade Paperbacks
Page : 353 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2022-10-04
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780593447949

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Justice on the Brink by Linda Greenhouse Pdf

The gripping story of the Supreme Court’s transformation from a measured institution of law and justice into a highly politicized body dominated by a right-wing supermajority, told through the dramatic lens of its most transformative year, by the Pulitzer Prize–winning law columnist for The New York Times—with a new preface by the author “A dazzling feat . . . meaty, often scintillating and sometimes scary . . . Greenhouse is a virtuoso of SCOTUS analysis.”—The Washington Post In Justice on the Brink, legendary journalist Linda Greenhouse gives us unique insight into a court under stress, providing the context and brilliant analysis readers of her work in The New York Times have come to expect. In a page-turning narrative, she recounts the twelve months when the court turned its back on its legacy and traditions, abandoning any effort to stay above and separate from politics. With remarkable clarity and deep institutional knowledge, Greenhouse shows the seeds being planted for the court’s eventual overturning of Roe v. Wade, expansion of access to guns, and unprecedented elevation of religious rights in American society. Both a chronicle and a requiem, Justice on the Brink depicts the struggle for the soul of the Supreme Court, and points to the future that awaits all of us.

Author : C. L. Ostberg,Matthew E. Wetstein
Publisher : UBC Press
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2011-11-01
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780774841313

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Attitudinal Decision Making in the Supreme Court of Canada by C. L. Ostberg,Matthew E. Wetstein Pdf

This book provides a comprehensive exploration of ideological patterns of judicial behaviour in the Supreme Court of Canada. Relying on an expansive database of Canadian Supreme Court rulings between 1984 and 2003, the authors present the most systematic discussion of the attitudinal model of decision making ever conducted outside the setting of the US Supreme Court. The groundbreaking discussion of the viability of this model as a unifying theory of judicial behaviour in high courts around the world will be essential reading for a wide range of legal scholars and court watchers.

Author : Emmett Macfarlane
Publisher : UBC Press
Page : 266 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2013
Category : History
ISBN : 9780774823500

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Governing from the Bench by Emmett Macfarlane Pdf

In Governing from the Bench, Emmett Macfarlane draws on interviews with current and former justices, law clerks, and other staff members of the court to shed light on the institution’s internal environment and decision-making processes. He explores the complex role of the Supreme Court as an institution; exposes the rules, conventions, and norms that shape and constrain its justices’ behavior; and situates the court in its broader governmental and societal context, as it relates to the elected branches of government, the media, and the public.

Author : H. W. Perry
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 332 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2009-06-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0674042069

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Deciding to Decide by H. W. Perry Pdf

Of the nearly five thousand cases presented to the Supreme Court each year, less than 5 percent are granted review. How the Court sets its agenda, therefore, is perhaps as important as how it decides cases. H. W. Perry, Jr., takes the first hard look at the internal workings of the Supreme Court, illuminating its agenda-setting policies, procedures, and priorities as never before. He conveys a wealth of new information in clear prose and integrates insights he gathered in unprecedented interviews with five justices. For this unique study Perry also interviewed four U.S. solicitors general, several deputy solicitors general, seven judges on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and sixty-four former Supreme Court law clerks. The clerks and justices spoke frankly with Perry, and his skillful analysis of their responses is the mainspring of this book. His engaging report demystifies the Court, bringing it vividly to life for general readers--as well as political scientists and a wide spectrum of readers throughout the legal profession. Perry not only provides previously unpublished information on how the Court operates but also gives us a new way of thinking about the institution. Among his contributions is a decision-making model that is more convincing and persuasive than the standard model for explaining judicial behavior.

Author : Beverley McLachlin
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
Page : 384 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2020-09-15
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781982104979

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Truth Be Told by Beverley McLachlin Pdf

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER *Indigo Top 10 of the Year* Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Beverley McLachlin offers an intimate and revealing look at her life, from her childhood in the Alberta foothills to her career on the Supreme Court, where she helped to shape the social and moral fabric of the country—for readers of Educated and Becoming. From a very early age, all I knew was that I wanted to do something that was not ordinary. Because, for a girl growing up in a remote prairie town in the 1940s, the ordinary was very ordinary indeed. Beverley McLachlin has led an extraordinary life. One of the few women studying law in the 1960s, she graduated at the top of her class and began her long career—first as a dedicated lawyer and professor, later as a judge serving on the highest court in the country, and finally as the first woman to be named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. The journey wasn’t easy. The options for women growing up in rural Pincher Creek, Alberta, were limited. But McLachlin was willful and spirited, and she wanted an education. She also had an innate sense of justice, which was reinforced by the lessons her parents taught her about equality and the value of hard work. It was this faith in justice that pulled her through dark times, especially when faced with sexism and exclusion at work and personal tragedy at home. Over time, McLachlin became a champion for Canadians from all walks of life. As a judge on the Supreme Court, she presided over charged debates on topics such as same-sex marriage, euthanasia, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. With each judgment, she laid down a legal legacy proving that fairness and justice are not luxuries of the powerful but rather rights owed to each and every one of us. With warmth, honesty, and deep wisdom, McLachlin recounts her remarkable life on and off the bench. Truth Be Told is an inspiring reminder that integrity and the rule of law are our best hopes for a progressive and bright future.

Author : Matthew E. K. Hall
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 229 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2018-08-23
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781108472746

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What Justices Want by Matthew E. K. Hall Pdf

Examines how personality traits shape the behavior of US Supreme Court justices, proposing a new theory of judicial behavior.

Author : Lee Epstein, Dr.,C. Herman Pritchett,Jack Knight,Walter F Murphy
Publisher : McGraw-Hill Education
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2005-04-19
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0072977051

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Courts, Judges, and Politics by Lee Epstein, Dr.,C. Herman Pritchett,Jack Knight,Walter F Murphy Pdf

This classic reader has been a best selling component of the Judicial Process/Judicial Politics/American Legal System course for years. The sixth edition has been thoroughly updated while retaining the features that made it attractive for so long: its effective structure, thorough coverage, narrative voice, choice of excerpts, and teaching flexibility.

Author : Eric J. Segall
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 281 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2012-02-22
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9798216151906

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Supreme Myths by Eric J. Segall Pdf

This book explores some of the most glaring misunderstandings about the U.S. Supreme Court—and makes a strong case for why our Supreme Court Justices should not be entrusted with decisions that affect every American citizen. Supreme Myths: Why the Supreme Court is Not a Court and its Justices are Not Judges presents a detailed discussion of the Court's most important and controversial constitutional cases that demonstrates why it doesn't justify being labeled "a court of law." Eric Segall, professor of law at Georgia State University College of Law for two decades, explains why this third branch of the national government is an institution that makes important judgments about fundamental questions based on the Justices' ideological preferences, not the law. A complete understanding of the true nature of the Court's decision-making process is necessary, he argues, before an intelligent debate over who should serve on the Court—and how they should resolve cases—can be held. Addressing front-page areas of constitutional law such as health care, abortion, affirmative action, gun control, and freedom of religion, this book offers a frank description of how the Supreme Court truly operates, a critique of life tenure of its Justices, and a set of proposals aimed at making the Court function more transparently to further the goals of our representative democracy.

Author : Lawrence Baum
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 246 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2009-01-10
Category : Law
ISBN : 9781400827541

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Judges and Their Audiences by Lawrence Baum Pdf

What motivates judges as decision makers? Political scientist Lawrence Baum offers a new perspective on this crucial question, a perspective based on judges' interest in the approval of audiences important to them. The conventional scholarly wisdom holds that judges on higher courts seek only to make good law, good policy, or both. In these theories, judges are influenced by other people only in limited ways, in consequence of their legal and policy goals. In contrast, Baum argues that the influence of judges' audiences is pervasive. This influence derives from judges' interest in popularity and respect, a motivation central to most people. Judges care about the regard of audiences because they like that regard in itself, not just as a means to other ends. Judges and Their Audiences uses research in social psychology to make the case that audiences shape judges' choices in substantial ways. Drawing on a broad range of scholarship on judicial decision-making and an array of empirical evidence, the book then analyzes the potential and actual impact of several audiences, including the public, other branches of government, court colleagues, the legal profession, and judges' social peers. Engagingly written, this book provides a deeper understanding of key issues concerning judicial behavior on which scholars disagree, identifies aspects of judicial behavior that diverge from the assumptions of existing models, and shows how those models can be strengthened.

Author : David Neal Atkinson
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 1999
Category : Law
ISBN : UOM:39015046495308

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Leaving the Bench by David Neal Atkinson Pdf

Examining each of the nearly 100 men who have left the US Supreme Court, explores their resignations and retirements from the lifetime tenure. Considers the diverse circumstances under which they leave and clarifies why they often are reluctant to do so, finding factors such as pensions, party loyalty, and personal pride. Also relates physical ailments to mental faculties to explain how a justice's disability can affect Court decisions. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Author : Forrest Maltzman,James F. Spriggs,Paul J. Wahlbeck
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2000-07-03
Category : Law
ISBN : 0521783941

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Crafting Law on the Supreme Court by Forrest Maltzman,James F. Spriggs,Paul J. Wahlbeck Pdf

Supreme Court decisions stem largely from the political nature of the opinion writing process.