Posts Tagged ‘judges’

New Benjamin Barton book, “The Lawyer-Judge Bias in the American Legal System”

A review copy arrived recently and I’ve much enjoyed reading the first chapters. It’s discussed by Larry Ribstein, by Glenn Reynolds, and by Cato’s Dan Mitchell (with special reference to the problem of tax complexity). The publisher’s description:

Virtually all American judges are former lawyers. This book argues that these lawyer-judges instinctively favor the legal profession in their decisions and that this bias has far-reaching and deleterious effects on American law. There are many reasons for this bias, some obvious and some subtle. Fundamentally, it occurs because – regardless of political affiliation, race, or gender – every American judge shares a single characteristic: a career as a lawyer. This shared background results in the lawyer-judge bias. The book begins with a theoretical explanation of why judges naturally favor the interests of the legal profession and follows with case law examples from diverse areas, including legal ethics, criminal procedure, constitutional law, torts, evidence, and the business of law. The book closes with a case study of the Enron fiasco, an argument that the lawyer-judge bias has contributed to the overweening complexity of American law, and suggests some possible solutions.

Earlier on Barton’s book, including a video, here.

February 22 roundup

January 21 roundup

December 28 roundup

Great moments in judicial conduct

“Former justice Elizabeth Weaver, who retired this year after 16 years on the Michigan Supreme Court, evidently made secret recordings of internal court deliberations and has released transcripts of some of the meetings.” Most of Weaver’s former colleagues on the court have signed a letter condemning her resort to secret taping, saying they were unaware of it and would never have consented to it or to her revelation of court deliberations generally. Weaver came to the bench as a Republican but was long at odds with the other GOP members of the court. [WSJ Law Blog, Knake/Legal Ethics Blog]

Forthcoming: “The Lawyer-Judge Bias in the American Legal System”

Sounds promising, from Tennessee law professor Benjamin Barton in January (via Glenn Reynolds):

Virtually all American judges are former lawyers, a shared background that results in the lawyer-judge bias. This book argues that these lawyer-judges instinctively favor the legal profession in their decisions and that this bias has far-reaching and deleterious effects on American law.

One judge’s philosophy?

Washington Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders, who won a moment of fame nationally for heckling then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey at a dinner, may conceive himself as a champion of the underdog, but if the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s coverage is accurate, he doesn’t always manage to convey that stance in the most felicitous way: “Sanders said his job as a Supreme Court justice is to make sure ‘the smallest dog can lift its leg against the largest tree.'”