Tag: Appellate Judges

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 »