Judicial Decisionmaking

This seminar course will focus on the processes - -procedural and intellectual - - that both trial and appellate courts employ in reaching their decisions. Besides emphasizing judges’ application of legal principles, discussion will focus on the role that judicial discretion plays in the legal process and the limitations placed on the exercise of such discretion. Attention will also be given to methods of selection of judges in federal and state courts, along with ongoing controversy over the extent to which “political” views impact judges’ decisions. The importance of stare decisis and judicial system hierarchy will also be examined.

Active participation by students in each session, including candid discussion of relevant and timely issues, raised by students themselves, will be required. It is expected that Judge Smith will invite experienced jurists from other courts to appear as guests to describe how they and their courts decide cases.

The textbook that will be used for the course is Judicial Decision-Making, by Barry Friedman, et al. It is a paperback volume which, at the time this course was developed, was the only textbook covering the subject matter. It seeks to “marr[y] the approaches and learning of social scientists about how judges and judicial bodies behave…with legal questions, problems, and discussion of legal institutions.”

This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.