eBook

Judges and their audiences

Baum, Lawrence

2008,2009,2006

Overview

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.

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Subject: Affirmative action / Anthony Kennedy / Antonin Scalia / Appellate court / Appointee / Associate Justice / Bush v. Gore / Calculation / Career / Chief Justice / Civil liberties / Consideration / Controversy / Criminal law / Criticism / Decision-making / Determinant / Explanation / Federal Court of Appeal (Canada) / Federal judge / Felix Frankfurter / Good law / Greenhouse effect (judicial drift) / Grutter v. Bollinger / Harry Blackmun / Hostility / Identity (social science) / Impression management / Institution / Judge / Judges / Judges -- United States / Judicial process / Judicial process -- United States / Judiciary / Jurisprudence / LAW / Law -- Psychological aspects / LAW / General / Law clerk / Law review / Law school / Lawyer / Learned Hand / Legal doctrine / Legal practice / Legal profession / Legislator / Opinion / Planned Parenthood v. Casey / Policy / POLITICAL SCIENCE / POLITICAL SCIENCE / General / Politics / Practice of law / Precedent / Prediction / Psychological aspects / Public opinion / Public policy / Reference group / Requirement / Result / Roe v. Wade / Roper v. Simmons / Self-concept / Self-esteem / Self-image / Separation of powers / Social environment / Social group / Standing (law) / Statute / Suggestion / United States / United States federal judge / United States v. Nixon / Voting / Weisberg / William O. Douglas / Writing
• ISBN: 0691138273, 9780691124933, 0691124930, 9780691138275, 140082754X, 9781400827541