Overview
Today we discuss the judiciary and the role of judges and juries in interpreting the laws.
Readings
We will have a discussion, but you are not required to submit questions in advance.
Primary Reading
- Landes, William M and Richard A Posner, 1975, “The Independent Judiciary in an Interest-Group Perspective”
Recommended/Referenced Reading
- Berdejo, Carlos and Noam Yuchtman, 2012, “Crime, Punishment, and Politics: An Analysis of Political Cycles in Criminal Sentencing”
- Epstein, Lee, William M Landes, and Richard A Posner, 2011, “Why (and When) Judges Dissent: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis”
- Gordon, Sanford Clark and Gregory Huber, 2007, “The Effect of Electoral Competitiveness on Incumbent Behavior”
- Hasnas, John, 1995, “The Myth of the Rule of Law”
- Helland and Tabarrok, 2002, “The Effect of Electoral Institutions on Tort Awards”
- Higgins, Richard S and Paul H Rubin, 1980, “Judicial Discretion”
- Landes, William M and Richard A Posner, 2009, “Rational Judicial Behavior: A Statistical Study”
- Posner, Richard A, 1993, “What Do Judges Maximize? (The Same Thing Everybody Elses Does”
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Elected Judges
- Viscusi and Zeckhauser, 2004, “The Denominator Blindness Effect: Accident Frequiencies and Misjudgment of Recklessness”
Questions to Guide Your Reading
What do judges maximize?
How dis/connected are judges and judicial decisions from politics?
How do juries compare to voters?
Slides
Below, you can find the slides in two formats. Clicking the image will bring you to the html version of the slides in a new tab. Note while in going through the slides, you can type h to see a special list of viewing options, and type o for an outline view of all the slides.
The lower button will allow you to download a PDF version of the slides. I suggest printing the slides beforehand and using them to take additional notes in class (not everything is in the slides)!
