Judges and Their Audiences
A Perspective on Judicial Behavior
Published on 23. July 2006
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-691-12493-3 (ISBN)
Description
What motivates judges as decision makers? Political scientist Lawrence Baum offers a new perspective on this crucial question, a perspective based on judges' interest in the approval of audiences important to them.
The conventional scholarly wisdom holds that judges on higher courts seek only to make good law, good policy, or both. In these theories, judges are influenced by other people only in limited ways, in consequence of their legal and policy goals. In contrast, Baum argues that the influence of judges' audiences is pervasive. This influence derives from judges' interest in popularity and respect, a motivation central to most people. Judges care about the regard of audiences because they like that regard in itself, not just as a means to other ends. Judges and Their Audiences uses research in social psychology to make the case that audiences shape judges' choices in substantial ways. Drawing on a broad range of scholarship on judicial decision-making and an array of empirical evidence, the book then analyzes the potential and actual impact of several audiences, including the public, other branches of government, court colleagues, the legal profession, and judges' social peers.
Engagingly written, this book provides a deeper understanding of key issues concerning judicial behavior on which scholars disagree, identifies aspects of judicial behavior that diverge from the assumptions of existing models, and shows how those models can be strengthened.
The conventional scholarly wisdom holds that judges on higher courts seek only to make good law, good policy, or both. In these theories, judges are influenced by other people only in limited ways, in consequence of their legal and policy goals. In contrast, Baum argues that the influence of judges' audiences is pervasive. This influence derives from judges' interest in popularity and respect, a motivation central to most people. Judges care about the regard of audiences because they like that regard in itself, not just as a means to other ends. Judges and Their Audiences uses research in social psychology to make the case that audiences shape judges' choices in substantial ways. Drawing on a broad range of scholarship on judicial decision-making and an array of empirical evidence, the book then analyzes the potential and actual impact of several audiences, including the public, other branches of government, court colleagues, the legal profession, and judges' social peers.
Engagingly written, this book provides a deeper understanding of key issues concerning judicial behavior on which scholars disagree, identifies aspects of judicial behavior that diverge from the assumptions of existing models, and shows how those models can be strengthened.
Reviews / Votes
Winner of the 2007 C. Herman Pritchett Award, Law and Courts Section of the American Political Science Association One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2006 "Judges and Their Audiences constitutes an impressive scholarly achievement in its expansive analysis of the existing literature... Lawrence Baum argues that judges, like most human beings, are often sensitive to and seek the approbation of others within their social and professional milieu... One theme runs throughout the empirical chapters: the vitality of a given precedent has an important effect on the manner in which later courts use that precedent to justify legal outcomes."--Stefanie A. Lindquist, Law and Politics Book Review "Lawrence Baum employs a range of empirical evidence on courts, combining the literatures on judicial decision making and social psychology to examine the influence of the legal profession, the media, and close colleagues on the self-presentation of judges."--Law & Social InquiryMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
5 tables.
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
510 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-12493-3 (9780691124933)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
08/2008
Princeton University Press
€32.40
Article not available at the moment
Person
Lawrence Baum is professor of political science at Ohio State University. He is a student of judicial politics, with a primary interest in explanation of judicial behavior. His previous books include include "American Courts", "The Supreme Court", and "The Puzzle of Judicial Behavior".
Content
List of Tables ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii Chapter 1: Thinking about Judicial Behavior 1 Models of Judicial Behavior 5 Shared Assumptions: The Judge as Mr. Spock 9 Limitations of the Dominant Models 19 Audience as a Perspective 21 Chapter 2: Judging as Self-Presentation 25 People and Their Audiences 25 Judicial Self-Presentation: A First Look 32 Audiences and Judicial Behavior 43 Chapter 3: Court Colleagues, the Public, and the Other Branches of Government 50 Court Colleagues 50 The General Public 60 The Other Branches 72 Conclusions 85 Chapter 4: Social and Professional Groups 88 Social Groups 88 Professional Groups: Lawyers and Judges 97 Conclusions 116 Chapter 5: Policy Groups, the News Media, and the Greenhouse Effect 118 Policy Groups 118 The News Media 135 A Greenhouse Effect? 139 Conclusions 155 Appendix: Procedures for Analysis of Voting Change by Supreme Court Justices 155 Chapter 6: Implications for the Study of Judicial Behavior 158 Motivational Bases for the Dominant Models 158 Departures from the Dominant Models 162 Probing the Impact of Judicial Audiences 171 Some Final Thoughts 174 References 177 Name Index 221 Subject and Case Index 229