Law Commons^™

Politics And The Judiciary: The Influence Of Judicial Background On Case Outcomes, Orley Ashenfelter, Theodore Eisenberg, Stewart J. Schwab

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

It is widely believed that the background and worldview of judges influence their decisions. This article uses the fact that judges are assigned their cases randomly to assess the effect of judicial background on the outcome of cases from the day-to-day docket in three federal trial courts. Unlike the political science findings of ideological influence in published opinions, we find little evidence that judges differ in their decisions with respect to the mass of case outcomes. Characteristics of the judges or the political party of the judge's appointing president are not significant predictors of judicial decisions.

The Federal Rules Of Evidence--Past, Present, And Future: A Twenty-Year Perspective, Faust Rossi

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This Essay surveys three major transformations in state and federal rules of evidence since the introduction of the Federal Rules of Evidence. The Rules have not only inspired a movement toward codification in the states, they have also liberalized the admission of expert testimony and hearsay. This partially explains thirteen states' reluctance to codify. Judges have furthered this trend by admitting far more discretionary hearsay evidence than Congress intended. Professor Rossi doubts this expansion of the hearsay exceptions would have occurred without the adoption of the FRE and suggests that the newly formed Advisory Committee will produce greater substantive changes …

Breakfast With Justice Blackmun, Sherry F. Colb

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Deceptive Nature Of Rules, Larry Alexander, Emily Sherwin

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Thomas's Supreme Unfitness--A Letter To The Senate On Advise And Consent, Gary J. Simson

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Trial By Jury Or Judge: Transcending Empiricism, Kevin M. Clermont, Theodore Eisenberg

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Pity the civil jury, seen by some as the sickest organ of a sick system. Yet the jury has always been controversial. One might suppose that, with so much at stake for so long, we would all know a lot about the ways juries differ from judges in their behavior. In fact, we know remarkably little. This Article provides the first large-scale comparison of plaintiff win rates and recoveries in civil cases tried before juries and judges. In two of the most controversial areas of modern tort law--product liability and medical malpractice--the win rates substantially differ from other cases' win …

Words That Deny, Devalue, And Punish: Judicial Responses To Fetus-Envy?, Sherry F. Colb

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Abstract needed.

The American Jury At Twenty-Five Years, Valerie P. Hans, Neil Vidmar

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The year 1991 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the publication of Harry Kalven, Jr. and Hans Zeisel's classic work, The American Jury. Arguably one of the most important books in the field of law and social science, this research monograph began the modrn field of jury studies and deeply influenced contemporary understanding of the jury as an institution.

In this essay we assess the book from the vantage point of a quarter- century. First, we provide a historical backdrop by reviewing the activities of the University of Chicago's Jury Project that led to the publication of The American Jury …

Bats And Owls And The Insane Moon: The Search For The Republic's Unwritten Constitution, E. F. Roberts

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Taking The Court Seriously: A Proposed Approach To Senate Confirmation Of Supreme Court Nominees, Gary J. Simson

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Doctrinal Collapse In Products Liability: The Empty Shell Of Failure To Warn, James A. Henderson Jr., Aaron Twerski

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Liability for a manufacturer's failure to warn of product-related risks is a well-established feature of modern products liability law. Yet many serious doctrinal and conceptual problems underlie these claims. Professors Henderson and Twerski explore these problems and argue that failure-to-warn jurisprudence is confused, perhaps irreparably, and that this confusion often results in the imposition of excessive liability on manufacturers. The authors begin by exposing basic errors resulting from courts' confusion over whether to apply a strict liability or a negligence standard of care in failure-to-warn cases. Having determined that negligence is the appropriate standard, they then examine more substantial and …

Justice Kelleher And The Constitutions, Robert B. Kent

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Judicial Notice: An Essay Concerning Human Misunderstanding, E. F. Roberts

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Articles limning the law pertaining to judicial notice are legion, and the footnotes which have been cite checked by generations of law review editors must number in the thousands. These articles assume that reason, properly employed, produces correct answers. They assume that disagreements can be resolved by reason, because it is self-evident that any problem, once identified, can be solved. Reflected here are the presuppositions of lawyers brought up in the Western legal tradition.

What if one were to doubt that reason necessarily governed the behavior of lawyers? What if one doubted as well that all problems were susceptible to …

The Role Of History In Constitutional Interpretation: A Case Study, Gary J. Simson

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Why Creative Judging Won't Save The Products Liability System, James A. Henderson Jr.

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reply To Mr Mackie, Robert S. Summers

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Working Conceptions Of "The Law", Robert S. Summers

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This exploratory essay is an admixture of amateur psychology, moral theory, and jurisprudence. It grows out of seminars I have given for judges, and reflects that focus. Co-theorists will now see some of what I have been telling practitioners. And error in my story may be exposed. But one can have no qualms about this. It is especially important to have things put right for judges.

‘Economists’ Reasons' For Common Law Decisions - A Preliminary Inquiry, Robert S. Summers, Leigh B. Kelley

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Judges In Life/Death Decisions For The Neurologically Impaired, H. Richard Beresford

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The Massachusetts Supreme Court has recently ruled that decisions about withholding care from hopelessly ill, legally incapacitated patients must be made by judges. It clearly rejected the view that families and attending physicians should be empowered to make such decisions. In this respect, the ruling contrasts with that of the Quinlan case and highlights the issue of whether judges or physicians and families are better able to make medically and morally sound decisions respecting this class of patients.

Two Types Of Substantive Reasons: The Core Of A Theory Of Common-Law Justification, Robert S. Summers

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

General Equitable Principles Under Section 1-103 Of The Uniform Commercial Code, Robert S. Summers

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Corroboration Instructions In A Rape Case On Experimental Juries, Valerie P. Hans, Neil Brooks

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The rules of evidence have evolved, in the main, to protect the jury from being misled, prejudiced or confused by certain types of evidence which might be presented to it. The rules attempt to achieve this purpose by utilizing a number of techniques, which were fashioned by common law judges. First, evidence which gives rise to these dangers might be excluded from the jury's consideration altogether. Secondly, such evidence might have to be corroborated by other evidence before the jury is permitted to reach a verdict in the case. Thirdly, the judge might be compelled to instruct the jury that …

Judicial Law Making And Administration, Roger C. Cramton

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Screening Judicial Candidates For Election, W. David Curtiss

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Judicial Notice: An Exercise In Exorcism, E. F. Roberts

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Notes From A Study Of The Caseload Of The Minnesota Supreme Court: Some Comments And Statistics On Pressures And Responses, Charles W. Wolfram

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Preliminary Notes Toward A Study Of Judicial Notice, E. F. Roberts

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The author describes the common law as a "machine," with judges and lawyers as its working parts. He explains that its successful operation requires a kind of "intellectual adrenalin" in order to keep it responsive to its changing environment. This is the function of judicial notice. The author next examines the different views of judicial notice and points out that each is a reflection of the era in which it was created. He concludes that judicial notice is not a distinct doctrine like the hearsay rule, but rather is simply the art of thinking as practiced within the legal system.

A Report On Judicial Ethics, Gray Thoron

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

While the ethics of the American judiciary cover a broad spectrum, both good and bad, the general over-all level of judicial ethical performance is relatively high. Most judges are honest and honorable. Where dissatisfaction is apparent, it is far more frequently directed at judicial competence than at judicial integrity and ethics. Corruption, dishonesty, susceptibility to political pressure, and other ethical lapses are, however, not unknown, and on very rare occasions have been extremely bad. The ethical obligations of the judiciary extend far beyond the basic essentials of honesty, impartiality, and fairness. Judges must not only avoid evil or wrongdoing, but …

An Introduction To The Study Of Presumptions, E. F. Roberts

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.