Judges Commons^™

The President, The Senate, The Constitution, And The Confirmation Process: A Reply To Professors Strauss And Sunstein, John O. Mcginnis

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Choosing Between Normative And Descriptive Versions Of The Judicial Role, Michael E. Herz

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Deference Running Riot: Separating Interpretation And Lawmaking Under Chevron, Michael E. Herz

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Settling For A Judge: A Comment On Clermont And Eisenberg, Samuel R. Gross

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Trial by Jury or Judge: Transcending Empiricism,1 by Kevin Clermont and Theodore Eisenberg, is not only an important article, it is unique. To most Americans, trial means trial by jury. In fact, over half of all federal trials are conducted without juries2 (including 31% of trials in cases in which the parties have the right to choose a jury3), and the proportion of bench trials in state courts is even higher.4 And yet, while there is a large literature on the outcomes of jury trials and the factors that affect them,5 nobody else has systematically compared trials by jury to …

Should Judges Take Seriously The Sentencing Commission's Standards For Accepting Plea Agreements?, David Yellen

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Justice O'Connor's Intellectual Property Opinions: Currents And Crosscurrents, Marci A. Hamilton

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History's Challenge To Feminism, Jeanne L. Schroeder

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Judging The Judges: Three Opinions, James Boyd White

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For some time I have been working on the problem of judicial criticism, focusing especially on the question: What is it in the work of a judge that leads us to admire a judicial opinion with the result of which we disagree, or to condemn an opinion that "comes out" the way we would do if we were charged with the responsibility of decision? The response I have been making is that this kind of judicial excellence (and its opposite too) lies in the sort of social and intellectual action in which the opinion engages: in the character the court …

Justifying The Judge's Hunch: An Essay On Discretion, Charles M. Yablon

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The article explores the interplay between jurisprudential and procedural perspectives on judicial discretion, arguing that these two discourses—often treated as distinct—offer valuable insights into each other. It examines how different models of discretion (skill, expediency, and creativity) operate within institutional frameworks, emphasizing the normative assumptions underlying their justifications. The analysis highlights the tension between rule-bound decision-making and the practical realities of judicial discretion, particularly in sentencing and appellate review.

Capital Punishment: A Disputation, Peter Lushing

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The article critiques the use of capital punishment, arguing that it is morally flawed, ineffective as a deterrent, and disproportionately applied to marginalized groups. Through a dialogue between a judge and a clerk, it highlights the emotional and societal complexities surrounding the death penalty, ultimately advocating for its abolition in favor of life imprisonment and systemic reforms.

Coming Of Age Some More: "Law And Literature" Beyond The Cradle, Richard H. Weisberg

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The article explores the historical development and significance of the Law and Literature movement, emphasizing the importance of literature in understanding legal reasoning, judicial writing, and professional ethics. It highlights how literature provides unique insights into the legal profession and advocates for its integration into legal education and practice to enhance ethical understanding and communication skills.

Foresight And The Law Of Servitudes, Stewart E. Sterk

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The article explores the debate over party autonomy in the law of servitudes, particularly focusing on the role of foresight and transaction costs. It argues that while freedom of contract is a foundational principle, the limitations of human foresight and the potential for high transaction costs justify limited judicial intervention to modify or terminate servitudes when circumstances change. The author critiques Professor Epstein's argument that perfect foresight would obviate the need for intervention, emphasizing that real-world contracting parties often fail to anticipate future changes adequately. The article ultimately advocates for a balanced approach that enforces servitudes but allows for judicial …

Law And Metaphysics, Charles M. Yablon

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Text Into Theory: A Literary Approach To The Constitution, Richard H. Weisberg

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The article explores the evolving dialogue between legal scholars and literary theorists, particularly focusing on how judicial opinions can be viewed as narrative fictions. It challenges traditional notions of textual autonomy in legal interpretation, suggesting that meaning is not fixed but is shaped by subjective readings. The analysis critiques the dichotomy between interpretivism and noninterpretivism, arguing that both approaches are inherently subjective. Drawing on historical and structural interpretations of the Constitution, the article advocates for a balanced approach that considers both textual integrity and communal values, emphasizing that constitutional truths are embedded within societal ideas rather than being strictly majoritarian …

A Response To Fish And White, Richard H. Weisberg

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The article explores the dynamic interplay between the text and its interpreter within legal and literary hermeneutics, emphasizing the balance between the text's inherent qualities and the reader's contextual influences. It mediates between Fish's emphasis on professional context guiding interpretation and Fiss's advocacy for objective textual constraints, while highlighting White's view that judicial opinions should be complex and poetic, integrating cultural context.

Foreword: The Law And Southern Literature, William H. Page, Richard H. Weisberg

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The article explores the intersections of law and literature, focusing on the proceedings of a 1983 symposium that brought together scholars, practitioners, and literary critics to examine how legal themes and values are depicted in Southern literature, particularly in the works of William Faulkner. The symposium addressed three key areas: the depiction of lawyers and legal doctrine in literature, the exploration of human rights and values through literary perspectives, and the application of literary criticism to legal interpretation. By analyzing these themes, the article highlights the growing field of Law and Literature and its potential to enrich both legal and …

Rethinking The Substantive Rules For Custody Disputes In Divorce, David L. Chambers

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A few states, mostly in the West and South, still retain a preference in custody disputes for placing young children with their mothers. In most other states, legislatures or courts have replaced the maternal presumption with a rule directing courts to be guided solely by the child's "welfare" or "best interests." A few legislatures have created a new preference for joint custody, directing courts to consider favorably requests by a parent for such arrangements, even over the objection of the other parent. This Article argues that the trend away from the maternal presumption is sensible, but that the current best-interests …

How Judges Speak: Some Lessons On Adjudication In Billy Budd, Sailor With An Application To Justice Rehnquist, Richard H. Weisberg

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The article examines how authority figures use language and procedural structures to shape outcomes in both literary and legal contexts, highlighting the tension between formal legal processes and true justice. Through a comparative analysis of Herman Melville's Billy Budd, Sailor and the Supreme Court case Paul v. Davis, the article argues that "considerate communication"—a subtle form of manipulation—can distort reality and undermine fairness in adjudication. It critiques legal systems that prioritize formality over substance, emphasizing how narrative techniques and rhetorical strategies in both literature and law can mask subjective biases and influence decisions.

Individual And Community: An Appreciation Of Mr. Justice Powell, Christina B. Whitman

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When the nomination of Lewis F. Powell, Jr., to the Supreme Court of the United States was submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee ten years ago, much was made of his extraordinary record of service to his city, his state, and his profession.1 Justice Powell's career has been a model of individual responsibility to society. His belief in the value of civic life, and in the desirability of making such a life available to everyone, has been a dominant influence in his work on the Supreme Court. In what follows, I shall attempt to define some of the assumptions with …

Eight Cases And Section 251, James J. White

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[A] continuing sense of reliance and security that the promised performance will be forthcoming. . . is an important feature of the bargain-so states Comment 1 to section 2-609 of the Uniform Commercial Code. At common law, one party to a contract might suffer considerable and justifiable anxiety about the other party's willingness or ability to perform and yet have no legal basis for cancelling the contract or for procuring additional assurances from the other party. Section 251 of the Restatement (Second) of Contracts is designed to provide a remedy for one party's reasonable fears that the other party to …

Potter Stewart, Terrance Sandalow

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In the spring of 958, Justice Harold Burton informed President Eisenhower of his decision to retire at the end of the Term, but, at the President's request, withheld public announcement until the latter was ready to name a successor. In September, Eisenhower appointed Potter Stewart, who became, at age forty-three, the second youngest person to serve on the Supreme Court since the Civil War.

Is Washington Ready For Merit Selection Of Judges, Hugh D. Spitzer, William S. Bailey

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In 1980, Seattle established a judicial merit selection process for the Seattle Municipal Court, based on an approach used in many other jurisdictions and by the federal government under President Carter. The Seattle plan represents the first time a merit selection commission of lawyers and lay people has been used for nonfederal appointments in Washington. The two individuals subsequently appointed to the Seattle Municipal Court have gone through one of this state's most rigorous judicial selection processes.

In this article, we will review how judges are presently selected in this state, the various methods of choosing judges in other jurisdictions …

Judicial Protection Of Minorities, Terrance Sandalow

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In United States v. Carolene Products Co., Justice Stone suggested by indirection that there "may be narrower scope for operation of the presumption of constitutionality" when courts are called upon to determine the validity "of statutes directed at particular religious . . . or national . . . or racial minorities."' In such cases, he explained, "prejudice against discrete and insular minorities may be a special condition, which tends seriously to curtail the operation of those political processes ordinarily to be relied upon to protect minorities, and which may call for a correspondingly more searching judicial inquiry."' Forty years later, …

Racial Preferences In Higher Education: Political Responsibility And The Judicial Role, Terrance Sandalow

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Controversy continues unabated over the question left unresolved by DeFunis v. Odegaard: whether in its admissions process a state law school may accord preferential treatment to certain racial and ethnic minorities. In the pages of two journals published by the University of Chicago, Professors John Hart Ely and Richard Posner have established diametrically opposed positions in the debate. Their contributions are of special interest because each undertakes to answer the question within the framework of a theory concerning the proper distribution of authority between the judiciary and the other institutions of government. Neither position, in my judgment, adequately confronts the …

Has The Court Left The Attorney General Behind? The Bazelon-Katzenbach Letters On Poverty, Equality, And The Administration Of Criminal Justice, Yale Kamisar

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Distribution of the first preliminary draft of the proposed American Law Institute Model Code of Pre-Arraignment Procedure last June touched off a brisk exchange of letters between Chief Judge David Bazelon of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, who maintained that the proposed code left a good deal to be desired, and Attorney General Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, who, although he did not explicitly treat any provision of the preliminary draft, sharply challenged the conception of equality underlying Bazelon's criticism of it. By now, both the code, and the Bazelon-Katzenbach correspondence which it evoked, are …

The Meaning Of Nationality In The Recent Immigration Acts, Edwin D. Dickinson

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Professor Dickinson's commentary on the quotas involved in the Immigration Act of 1921 and of 1924. "Until the more recent enactment the meaning of nationality was obscured in a curious ambiguity ... the Act of 1921 made nationality the basis of the quote plan....

"Whether nationality was used in the scientific sense, however, meaning the character created by allegiance to a recognized nation or state, or whether its significance was arbitrary, referring only to such groupings as might be arranged by census makers or other such administrative officials, remained to be determined by judicial construction."

Professor Dickinson then narrates how …

Disqualification Of Judges By Prejudice, Edson R. Sunderland

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Under the provisions of Section 21 of the Federal Judicial Code, Victor Berger and others, who had been indicted under the Espionage Act in the Northern District of Illinois, filed an affidavit charging Judge Landis with personal bias and prejudice against them as German-Americans, and moved for the assignment of another judge to preside at their trial. The motion was overruled by Judge Landis, and he himself presided at the trial, and the defendants were convicted and sentenced. The Supreme Court of the United States, to which the matter came on certificate, held, three justices dissenting, that Judge Landis could …

Sane Procedural Reform, Robert E. Bunker

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In these later days much is said about reforming the procedure of our courts, about recalllng our judges, at arbitrarily appointed times, and about reversing their decisions by popular vote. Most of what is said about these matters is said by those who have least reason to say it. It is no exaggeration to assert that those who are most severe in their criticism of the courts and of their procedure and most lavish in their suggestions of reform are they who know little, beyond the most general, about the courts and nothing about their procedure from personal contact with …

James Valentine Campbell, Victor H. Lane

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Judge James Valentine Campbell was born in Buffalo in the State of New York on the 25th day of February, 1823, and his sixty-seventh year had just closed when he died in the City of Detroit on the 26th day of March, 1890.

Thomas Mcintyre Cooley, Jerome C. Knowlton

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In the early fifties, there were four young men practicing at the bar of the State of Michigan who became so influential during the formative period in the jurisprudence of the state that we cannot name one of them without thinking of the others. James V. Campbell, Isaac P. Christiancy, Thomas M. Cooley and Benjamin F. Graves came from New York parentage and from New England stock. The three last named received their education in the primary schools and academies of New York. As young men seeking their future they came west and settled in different parts of this state. …