What's Law Got to Do With It?

by Geyh, Charles Gardner

• ISBN13: 9780804775335
• ISBN10: 0804775338
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-08-09
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr

Summary

In What's Law Got to Do With It?, the nation's top legal scholars and political scientists examine to what extent the law actually shapes how judges behave and make decisions, and what it means for society at large. Although there is a growing consensus among legal scholars and political scientists, significant points of divergence remain. Contributors to this book explore ways to reach greater accord on the complexity and nuance of judicial decisionmaking and judicial elections, while acknowledging that agreement on what judges do is not likely to occur any time soon. As the first forum in which political scientists and legal scholars engage with one another on these hot button issues, this volume strives to establish a true interdisciplinary conversation. The inclusion of reactions from practicing judges puts into high relief the deep-seated and opposing beliefs about the roles of law and politics in judicial work.

Author Biography

Charles Gardner Geyh is the Associate Dean for Research and the John E Kimberling Professor of Law at the Maurer School of Law at Indiana University. His work on judicial independence, accountability, administration, and ethics has appeared in over 50 books, articles, book chapters, and reports.

Table of Contents

Figures and Tables	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction: So What Does Law Have to Do with It?	p. 1
What's Law Got to Do with It: Thoughts from "The Realm of Political Science"	p. 17
On the Study of Judicial Behaviors: Of Law, Politics, Science, and Humility	p. 41
Distinguishing Law from Other Influences on Judicial Decision-making
Law and Policy: More and Less than a Dichotomy	p. 71
Law Is Politics	p. 92
Path Dependence in Studies of Legal Decision-making	p. 114
Looking for Law in All the Wrong Places: Some Suggestions for Modeling Legal Decision-making	p. 143
Stare Decisis as Reciprocity Norm	p. 173
What Law Has to Do with What judges Do and Its Implications for Judicial Selection
How Judicial Elections Are Like Other Elections and What That Means for the Rule of Law	p. 197
On the Cataclysm of Judicial Elections and Other Popular Antidemocratic Myths	p. 223
Are Judicial Elections Democracy-Enhancing?	p. 248
What Law has to do with What Judges Do and Its Implications for Public Confidence in the Courts
Judging the Politics of Judging: Are Politicians in Robes Inevitably Illegitimate?	p. 281
The Rule of Law Is Dead! Long Live the Rule of Law!	p. 306
Three Views from the Bench	p. 328
About the Contributors	p. 343
Index	p. 345
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