Judges and Their Audiences: A Perspective on Judicial Behavior

Portada
Princeton University Press, 2009 M01 10 - 240 páginas

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.

Dentro del libro

Páginas seleccionadas

Contenido

9780691138275_2CH1
1
9780691138275_3CH2
25
9780691138275_4CH3
50
9780691138275_5CH4
88
9780691138275_6CH5
118
9780691138275_7CH6
158
9780691138275_8BIB
176
9780691138275_9IND
221
9780691138275_10IND
229
9780691138275_11IND
232
Derechos de autor

Otras ediciones - Ver todas

Términos y frases comunes

Acerca del autor (2009)

Lawrence Baum is professor of political science at Ohio State University. He is a student of judicial politics, with a primary interest in explanation of judicial behavior. His previous books include include American Courts, The Supreme Court, and The Puzzle of Judicial Behavior.

Información bibliográfica