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The Dimensions Of Judicial Impartiality, Charles G. Geyh
The Dimensions Of Judicial Impartiality, Charles G. Geyh
Charles G. Geyh
Abstract: Scholars have traditionally analyzed judicial impartiality piecemeal, in disconnected debates on discrete topics. As a consequence, current understandings of judicial impartiality are balkanized and muddled. This article seeks to reconceptualize judicial impartiality comprehensively, across contexts. In an era when “we are all legal realists now,” perfect impartiality—the complete absence of bias or prejudice—is at most an ideal, with “impartial enough” becoming, of necessity, the realistic goal. Understanding when imperfectly impartial is nonetheless impartial enough is aided by conceptualizing judicial impartiality in three distinct dimensions: A procedural dimension in which impartiality affords parties a fair hearing; a political dimension in …
Can The Rule Of Law Survive Judicial Politics?, Charles G. Geyh
Can The Rule Of Law Survive Judicial Politics?, 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 strictly follow the law. 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 an emerging …
Judicial Politics, The Rule Of Law And The Future Of An Ermine Myth, Charles G. Geyh
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 …