Law Commons^™

A Black Robe And Healing Words: Constants In A Changing World, Sallie Thieme Sanford Sanfords@Uw.Edu

Articles

This narrative article describes a bedside hospital hearing to compel surgery, notes the applicable legal standards, and considers the potential impact of the judge in this type of proceeding. The patient, whose back was badly burned, adamantly and vocally refused skin graft surgery. Her physicians believed she lacked decisional capacity; that belief was borne out during the hearing at which the judge did enter an order for surgery. The judge’s handling of the hearing was central to the patient’s expressed agreement with the decision and subsequent successful treatment.

Trust Me, I’M A Judge: Why Binding Judicial Notice Of Jurisdictional Facts Violates The Right To Jury Trial, William M. Carter Jr.

Articles

The conventional model of criminal trials holds that the prosecution is required to prove every element of the offense beyond the jury's reasonable doubt. The American criminal justice system is premised on the right of the accused to have all facts relevant to his guilt or innocence decided by a jury of his peers. The role of the judge is seen as limited to deciding issues of law and facilitating the jury's fact-finding. Despite these principles,judges are reluctant to submit to the jury elements of the offense that the judge perceives to be . routine, uncontroversial or uncontested.

One such …