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Judicial Politics, The Rule Of Law And The Future Of An Ermine Myth, Charles G. Geyh

Charles G. Geyh

According to a Renaissance myth, the ermine would rather die than soil its pristine, white coat. English and later American judges would adopt the ermine as a symbol of the judiciary’s purity and commitment to the rule of law. This “ermine myth” remains central to the legal establishment’s conception of the judicial role: independent judges, the argument goes, disregard extralegal influences and instead follow the law strictly. , In contrast, political scientists had long theorized that judicial independence liberates judges to disregard the law and substitute their extralegal policy preferences. A recent spate of interdisciplinary research, however, has led to …