Judicial Decision-Making

Judicial Supremacy and the Politics of Executive Judicial Relations

by David Miles

Honours Dissertation for my MA at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, 2010

Analysis of the emergence of judicial supremacy within American politics, as shown in the work of Whittington, reveals... more Analysis of the emergence of judicial supremacy within American politics, as shown in the work of Whittington, reveals the important role played by political actors and particularly the presidency in the formation of the Supreme Court’s power. This dissertation builds on Whittington’s work regarding judicial supremacy but differs in the extent to which it emphasises the salient role of judicial agency in the formation of the Court’s authority. Judicial agency sees the Court as a political actor making calculations in the context of the prevailing circumstances and adopting strategies to maximise its authority. The relationship between the Supreme Court and the presidency defies easy categorisation, yet the political benefits to presidents of the Court’s ability to render favourable rulings on preferred policies appear to outweigh the undeniable disadvantages which have accrued to presidents from their recognition of judicial authority.

Reconsidering the principle of separation of powers: judicial networking and institutional balance in the process of European integration

by Mattia Magrassi

Discussion draft: Please do not cite without author's permission
E-mail address: mattia.magrassi@unitn.it

(Open Office Impress Presentation) Reconsidering the principle of separation of powers: judicial networking and institutional balance in the process of European integration

by Mattia Magrassi

Open Office Impress Presentation for the European Union Studies Association 12th Biennial International Conference, Boston, Massachusetts (USA), March 3-5, 2011

On Aspects of Legal Romanticism: Either-Or-Mentality

by Stefan Mandelbaum

Published on KSLR Legal Theory Blog

An Updated Perspective of the Hunch in Judicial Decision Making

by Diana Constantinescu

Please do not cite without permission. Feedback most welcome!

Will be presented at the "New Frontiers of Legal Realism: American, Scandinavian, European, Global" international conference in Copenhagen, 29-30 May 2012 (http://jura.ku.dk/crs/english/calendar/new-frontiers-of-legal-realism/)

In this essay I wish to approach an issue which is consistently disregarded in current jurisprudential debates – the... more In this essay I wish to approach an issue which is consistently disregarded in current jurisprudential debates – the issue of the judicial hunch. I wish to argue that hunches and intuitions happen much more often than we think; they are present at all levels of the judiciary, in easy and hard cases, at all levels of expertise. In fact, my argument goes stronger than that: hunches are an essential component of the act of judging. I also wish to show that “legal reasoning”, if it has to be used properly, designates but part of the judicial decisionmaking process, and it has less importance than legal theorists usually give it.

In our judicial decisionmaking discussion I wish to introduce two new types of theories which are useful in understanding what judicial hunches are and what role they play in the act of judging. The first one is already widely accepted in psychology and has strong supporting evidence from neuroscience; I will call it the fast/slow thinking distinction. The second theory is based on recent neurological findings and represents the new psychological paradigm of intuition. It tries to answer questions and dilemmas which legal theorists will find familiar: Is intuition rational or emotional? Do feelings influence intuition? Is intuition a process or a result? What role does professional expertise have in intuition? Are intuitions “accurate”? And the list could go on. The applicability of these theories to judicial decisionmaking will become apparent once I flesh them out in the paper.


I thank Prof Stephen Guest (UCL), Prof Fred Schauer (Virginia), Prof Veronica Rodriguez-Blanco (Birmingham/EUI) and John Rumbold (Keel) for providing precious feedback which will lead to an improved version soon.

Institutional consistency: appeal court judgements

by Cyrus Tata

Introduction to the special issue on judicial decision support systems

by Cyrus Tata

The Interpretation and Use of Pre-Sentence Reports in the Sentencing Process

by Cyrus Tata

Beyond the Technology of Quick Fixes-Will the Judiciary Act to Protect Itself and Shore up Judicial Independence-Recent Experience from Scotland

by Cyrus Tata

The Failure of Recall to Prison: Early Release, Front-Door and Back-Door Sentencing and the Revolving Prison Door in Scotland

by Cyrus Tata

Judicial Selection and Training in Europe: 21st Century Perspectives on Ethics and Soft Skills in Court

by Diana Constantinescu

PhD proposal submitted in May 2011 at UCL. Currently under revision.

Judicial selection and training policies and standards must include two fundamental dimensions which reflect current... more Judicial selection and training policies and standards must include two fundamental dimensions which reflect current realities in judicial activity:
1) Judicial ethics; which refers to (a) the good character which a judicial candidate must prove when becoming a judge, according to some ethical standards; and (b) the situations where an actual judge must avoid bias, conflicts of interests, and resolve ethical issues in court and outside court, according to some code of ethics;
2) Modern judicial skills; which encompass generic skills that are not normally associated with judicial decisionmaking but become increasingly important in nowadays’ judicial activity – starting with case and court management, public relations skills, foreign languages, continuing with handling new technologies in court and concluding with time management and personal development.

Check the pdf for State of the art, literature review, methodology and others.

The Judicial Role in the 'Balance'Between Two Visions of Justice in Sentencing

by Cyrus Tata

A Sense of Justice: the Role of Pre-Sentence Reports in the Production and Disruption of Guilt and Guilty Pleas

by Cyrus Tata

Punishment & Society: the International Journal of Penology Vol. 12(3)

Sentencing and information technology: incidental reform

by Cyrus Tata

Introduction: Why Study Judicial Decision Support Systems?

by Cyrus Tata

Beyond the Technology of Quick Fixes

by Cyrus Tata

Shadow writing and participant observation: a study of criminal justice social work around sentencing

by Cyrus Tata

The Journal of Law & Society

Sentencing and society: International Perspectives

by Cyrus Tata

Editorial: Judicial Decision Support Systems as Tools to Transform Justice?

by Cyrus Tata

LES RAPPORTS PRÉSENTENCIELS ET LEUR

by Cyrus Tata

LES RAPPORTS PRÉSENTENCIELS ET LEUR
RÉCEPTION PAR LES JURIDICTIONS PÉNALES. Published in the French Journal Actualite Juridique Penal 2011 (9) (Dalloz, France)