Policymaking and Politics in the Federal District Courts

Policymaking and Politics in the Federal District Courts PDF Author: Robert A. Carp
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780870493690
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description

Policymaking and Politics in the Federal District Courts

Policymaking and Politics in the Federal District Courts PDF Author: Robert A. Carp
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780870493690
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description


The Gatekeepers

The Gatekeepers PDF Author: Kevin Lyles
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313025371
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
There are more than 600 Federal district judges serving today, and they decide some 230,000 civil cases each year. About 90% of the decisions they reach are final. Lyles argues that these lower court judges not only influence the flow of information to the judicial hierarchy, but they formulate questions that influence how higher courts, including the Supreme Court, respond. As such they are key elements in the formulation and implementation of public policy. To cite a few examples, they desegregate school districts, run mental institutions and prisons, break up monopolies, and reapportion legislatures. Lyles begins by examining the structure and function of federal courts and detailing the history, operation, and purpose of the district courts. He then turns to the selection, nomination, and appointment of district judges. Lyles then analyzes the extent to which presidents might advance policy objectives through their judicial appointments to the district courts. After examining how African-American, Latino, and white judges, male and female, view their roles as policy actors, Lyles concludes with a discussion of the implications of the study. Important for students and scholars of contemporary public policy and the court system.

Judging Law and Policy

Judging Law and Policy PDF Author: Robert M. Howard
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136887601
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
To what extent do courts make social and public policy and influence policy change? This innovative text analyzes this question generally and in seven distinct policy areas that play out in both federal and state courts—tax policy, environmental policy, reproductive rights, sex equality, affirmative action, school finance, and same-sex marriage. The authors address these issues through the twin lenses of how state and federal courts must and do interact with the other branches of government and whether judicial policy-making is a form of activist judging. Each chapter uncovers the policymaking aspects of judicial process by investigating the current state of the law, the extent of court involvement in policy change, the responses of other governmental entities and outside actors, and the factors which influenced the degree of implementation and impact of the relevant court decisions. Throughout the book, Howard and Steigerwalt examine and analyze the literature on judicial policy-making as well as evaluate existing measures of judicial ideology, judicial activism, court and legal policy formation, policy change and policy impact. This unique text offers new insights and areas to research in this important field of American politics.

Politics and Judgment in Federal District Courts

Politics and Judgment in Federal District Courts PDF Author: C. K. Rowland
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
"A major empirical and theoretical work that has the potential for becoming a classic in the field". -- Sheldon Goldman, author of The Federal Courts as a Political System. "This provocative theoretical approach should be of great interest to scholars and students of the federal bench". -- Elliott E. Slotnick, editor of Judicial Politics.

Courts and Judicial Policymaking

Courts and Judicial Policymaking PDF Author: Christopher P. Banks
Publisher: Prentice Hall
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
For courses in courts and the judicial process; and law and society. The scope of its coverage, and its high academic quality, makes it attractive for graduate courses as well. Christopher P. Banks and David M. O'Brien wrote Courts and Judicial Policymaking to fill a need for a comprehensive textbook on law and judicial policymaking. The text provides a fresh perspective on the contemporary politics of law, courts, the legal profession, and judicial policymaking, often with an underlying comparative judicial process perspective. It covers four distinct areas: 1) What is law?; 2) How are courts organized and how do they work procedurally?; 3) What influences court access and, ultimately, judicial decision-making?; and, 4) How do courts make policy, and how is judicial authority constrained? It has relevant and contemporary analyses of literature from the political science and legal fields; and analyses from scholars who argue from the quantitative (attitudinal and strategic models) and the qualitative (new institutionalism) perspectives. It contains up-to-date charts and graphs on the organization of courts and trends in litigation, caseloads, and opinion writing, and it is appropriate for undergraduate and graduate classes. Feedback includes: "The book is extremely well written and organized, one of the smoothest textbooks I have read in terms of readability. The tables provided are a major selling point for the book - nicely summarize complex and often confusing materials." - Roger Handberg, University of Central Florida "The best feature of this manuscript is its thorough coverage of the subject matter as well as the in-depth analysis of specific topics and questions addressed in the boxed material and sidebars. Adding a comparative dimension by looking at the judicial systems and procedures of other countries is also quite novel." - Susan Mezey, Loyola University, Chicago

Lighting the Way

Lighting the Way PDF Author: Douglas Rice
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
ISBN: 0813943957
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Do our federal courts, including the Supreme Court, lead or merely implement public policy? This is a critical question in the study and practice of law, with a long history of continued dispute and contradictory evidence. In Lighting the Way, Douglas Rice systematically examines both sides of this debate. Introducing compelling new data on the policy focuses of federal courts, Rice presents the first long-term, comprehensive consideration of the judicial agenda. In doing so, he details the essential role of the Supreme Court and other federal courts in directing attention to issues in American politics through influential relationships with Congress, the presidency, and the public. The dynamics Rice illustrates grow from the strengths of political constituencies in various policy areas and the constitutional powers accorded to the courts. Lighting the Way provides strong evidence that, as long argued but never empirically demonstrated, the courts systematically lead the attention of other institutions on civil rights. The research speaks to a broad and growing literature in political science and sociolegal research on the interactive nature of policymaking and the critical role of legal institutions and social movements in shaping policy agendas.

Judicial Policy Making

Judicial Policy Making PDF Author: Glendon A. Schubert
Publisher: Glenview, Ill : Scott, Foresman
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description


The Judicial Branch of Federal Government

The Judicial Branch of Federal Government PDF Author: Charles L. Zelden
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1851097074
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
This volume in ABC-CLIO's About Federal Government set looks at the history and daily operations of the federal judiciary, from district courts, to courts of appeal, to the Supreme Court. The Judicial Branch of Federal Government: People, Process, and Politics shows how the federal courts act as interpreters of the law, definers of rules, and shapers of policy, covering the judiciary throughout U.S. history and as it functions today. In one concise yet comprehensive resource, The Judicial Branch of Federal Government describes the constitutionally ascribed roles and structures of the courts. It looks at the men and women who serve on the federal bench (who they are and how they are appointed), as well as the fascinating relationship of the federal courts with the legislative and executive branches and with the 50 state court systems.

The Federal Courts

The Federal Courts PDF Author: Robert A. Carp
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1483305104
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
For law and courts courses focused on the federal level, this popular spin-off volume from Judicial Process in America, is the perfect supplement. The authors explain the organizational structure of the federal courts, outline the jurisdiction of the three levels of U.S. courts, and pay particular attention to the link between the courts, public policy, and the political environment.

Modern-day Judicial "politics"

Modern-day Judicial Author: Kyla Kristine Stepp
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Judicial process
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
Recent decisions regarding LGBT rights, reproductive rights, and racial and gender equality by U.S. District Courts have illuminated how these lower federal courts are increasingly becoming important policymakers in our political system. However, research to date has only scratched the surface on district court decision making in cases involving significant constitutional issues such as these. The substantial variation among judges (and among states/regions) in the decisions made and resulting policies indicates the existence of powerful, competing influences on district judges. I conduct a comprehensive analysis of many potential influences on district court judges, including individual ideology, personal characteristics, legal factors, and strategy; I also examine the influence of public opinion on judges, a variable that has been heretofore ignored at the district court level, most likely due to the difficulty of obtaining state-level public opinion data. I do so using a unique dataset I've created, which includes every district court case over a 22-year period (1991-2012) involving LGBT rights, abortion, and affirmative action. My results run counter to several recent studies discounting the role of ideology on district court judges by strongly confirming the importance of such ideology, at least when salient constitutional rights are involved. Additionally, public opinion does appear to play a role in certain cases, a finding that suggests we should change the way we look at the role of district courts in our current political system, as well as opens up a whole new avenue of study for judicial scholars.