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Court Review: Volume 44, Issue 1/2 – Editor’S Note, Alan J. Tomkins
Court Review: Volume 44, Issue 1/2 – Editor’S Note, Alan J. Tomkins
Alan J Tomkins
This special issue of Court Review focuses on procedural justice. Tom Tyler has called procedural justice the most powerful explanatory concept for why people obey rules that restrict their behavior in ways they would otherwise find unacceptable. David Rottman has written “having a sense that court decisions are made through processes that are fair is the strongest predictor by far of whether members of the public approve of or have confidence” in courts. Procedural justice is worthy of a deep look, and this issue of Court Review does precisely that—it presents papers from some of the nation’s leading scholars who …
Evaluating Court Processes For Determining Indigency, Elizabeth Neeley, Alan J. Tomkins
Evaluating Court Processes For Determining Indigency, Elizabeth Neeley, Alan J. Tomkins
Alan J Tomkins
The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees all people accused of a crime the right to legal counsel. In the landmark 1963 decision Gideon v. Wainright, 1 the United States Supreme Court affirmed the right of indigent defendants to have counsel provided. But Gideon did not end the Supreme Court’s discussion of the circumstances in which the state is required to provide defendants with an attorney when they claim not to have the means to pay for one. 2 Nor did it end the states’ examination of the requirement of any legal assistance paid for by taxpayers. 3 Moreover, it …
Court Review: Volume 43, Issue 2 – Editor’S Note, Alan J. Tomkins
Court Review: Volume 43, Issue 2 – Editor’S Note, Alan J. Tomkins
Alan J Tomkins
My inaugural issue of Court Review contains articles examining judicial selection, retention, and independence. Public scrutiny of the courts is especially complicated. On the one hand, democratic theory supports a role for the citizenry in judging judges: Governmental transparency, accountability, and public input into governmental policy-making are important principles for strong, democratic public institutions. On the other hand, it seems counterproductive to have the third branch undergo the same kinds of inspections that officials elected to the executive and legislative branches of government undergo. Judges are supposed to operate independently and impartially, not looking over their shoulder when they rule …