Judges and Judging
-
Paul Horwitz (University of Alabama School of Law) has posted Review – Constitutional Conscience: The Moral Dimension of Judicial Decision, by H. Jefferson Powell, and How Judges Think, by Richard A. Posner on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This is a short review of two new books on judging – Constitutional Conscience: The Moral Dimension…
-
William Landes and Richard Posner have posted Rational Judicial Behavior on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This paper analyzes the connection between ideology and voting of judges using a large sample of court of appeals cases decided since 1925 and Supreme Court cases decided since 1937. The ideological classifications of votes (e.g., liberal or conservative)…
-
Samuel R. Olken (John Marshall Law School) has posted Justice Sutherland Reconsidered (Vanderbilt Law Review, 2009) on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Long considered one of the Supreme Court’s more conservative justices in matters of economic liberty, George Sutherlan’s reputation has suffered largely because of his vigorous opposition to the fabled revolution of the 1930s…
-
Brian Z. Tamanaha (St. John’s University – School of Law) has posted Understanding Legal Realism on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Legal realism is well known, but generally misunderstood. Through a close examination of the work of the legal realists and their predecessors, this article presents a complete reconstruction of legal realism. The most startling…
-
Brian Z. Tamanaha (St. John’s University) has posted The Bogus Tale About the Legal Formalists on SSRN. Here is the abstract: It is widely accepted that legal formalist views dominated at the turn of the last century: judges, legal academics, and lawyers purportedly believed that law was comprehensive, gapless, and logically ordered, and believed that…
-
Ronald Turner (University of Houston Law Center) has posted Ideological Voting on the National Labor Relations Board on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article considers the role that ideology has played in the decision making of the National Labor Relations Board. Ideology, as used herein, is generally understood as normative commitments and refers, more…
-
Nathan B. Oman (College of William & Mary Law School) has posted Preaching to the Court House and Judging in the Temple on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A number of American religious denominations – Quakers, Baptists, Mormons, and others – have tried with varying degrees of success to opt out of the secular legal…
-
Check out Learning Curves at the Supreme Court by Andy Siegel at PrawfsBlawg. A tiny taste: Yesterday’s oral arguments at the Supreme Court are the first of the young term to excite much interest. Though much can be said about the substance of the arguments–particularly California v. Cunningham, the latest in the Apprendi–Blakely–Booker line of…