NCJ Number
125869
Date Published
1989
Length
225 pages
Annotation
A former State supreme court justice addresses such questions as how judges view the arguments of lawyers and how appellate courts cope with an increasing caseload.
Abstract
The author describes his own ascent on the judicial ladder. He discusses judicial functions that are more or less distinctive to State courts, using case descriptions to illustrate the history and development of common law, the significance of State constitutions for the protection of individual rights, special problems posed by the enactment of laws through the initiative process, and dilemmas surrounding administration of the death penalty. He confronts the question of whether judges make law, arguing that judges do make law in a sense but only within a framework of constraints that significantly differentiate the process from legislative lawmaking. The author shows that judicial lawmaking varies considerably from context to context and has different dimensions in State systems as compared to the Federal system. The election process used in most States to select or retain judges is discussed, and the author contends that elections threaten judicial independence. Since practicing law for most lawyers means interacting with courts, the perception of what lawyers do is inevitably shaped in part by perceptions of the judicial function. Lawyers and judges should view themselves as partners in a creative enterprise that is accountable to the public.