NCJ Number
96359
Editor(s)
G H Williams,
K M Sampson
Date Published
1984
Length
290 pages
Annotation
This handbook contains 30 essays by jurists, educators, and journalists that address the nature of the judge's role, qualities needed in a judge, the daily routine of judging, and relationships between the courts and the community at large.
Abstract
The first group of papers focuses on the qualities required in both trial and appellate judges from several perspectives -- the legal profession, selection groups, and civic organizations. Public concern with a judge's private life is discussed. Selected essays then deal with the judge's work, covering charges to the jury, preparation of an opinion, handling civil litigation, and managing stress. The handbook's discussions regarding interdependence of courts and the community considers relations between judges and the media, courts' relationships with legal scholars, and public attitudes toward the judicial system. Ways judges can teach citizens about the judicial process are described. Beginning with Roscoe Pound's classic 1906 speech on popular dissatisfaction with the courts, essays chronicle the seeming circularity of modern judicial reform efforts. Two inspirational speeches by Judge Learned Hand and Judge Benjamin Cardzo conclude the book.