Tag: Appellate Judges

Justice and Judgment Among the Whomever: An Anthropological Approach to Judging

John Conley - University of North Carolina Law School

Prior to the conference, the organizers asked me for my thoughts on how an anthropologist might approach the problem of studying judging.  Those thoughts follow.  I have subsequently reflected on the discussion at the conference itself, and I conclude this essay with those reflections.
When I think of “judging” as… Read More »

Pitfalls of Empirical Studies That Attempt to Understand the Factors Affecting Appellate Decisionmaking

Hon. Harry T. Edwards - Senior Circuit Judge, D.C. Circuit Court

I recently read a paper in which a prominent legal scholar argued that empirical evidence conclusively demonstrates that decisionmaking in the federal courts of appeals is highly politicized. No body of empirical evidence supports this claim.
When federal appellate judges decide a case, we focus on the relevant legal materials,… Read More »