Judges and Their Audiences: A Perspective on Judicial Behavior

by Lawrence Baum

What motivates judges as decision makers? Political scientist Lawrence Baum offers a new perspective on this crucial question, a perspective based on judges' interest in the approval of audiences important to them. The conventional scholarly wisdom holds that judges on higher courts seek only to make good law, good policy, or both. In these theories, judges are influenced by other people only in limited ways, in consequence of their legal and policy goals. In contrast, Baum argues that the influence of judges' audiences is pervasive. This influence derives from judges' interest in popularity and respect, a motivation central to most people. Judges care about the regard of audiences because they like that regard in itself, not just as a means to other ends. Judges and Their Audiences uses research in social psychology to make the case that audiences shape judges' choices in substantial ways. Drawing on a broad range of scholarship on judicial decision-making and an array of empirical evidence, the book then analyzes the potential and actual impact of several audiences, including the public, other branches of government, court colleagues, the legal profession, and judges' social peers. Engagingly written, this book provides a deeper understanding of key issues concerning judicial behavior on which scholars disagree, identifies aspects of judicial behavior that diverge from the assumptions of existing models, and shows how those models can be strengthened.

249 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Michael Griswold · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this book for a seminar in judicial behavior and most of the discussion of Judges and Their Audiences centers around an eighties catchphrase: Where's the Beef? Lawrence Baum has produced a very readable book that purports to add to the existing attitudinal and strategic models of judicial behavior. Baum's analysis fails in this goal, but does provide a needed breath of clarity to the existing models as much of his alternative explanation for judicial behavior could be molded into those models. His central idea is that judges desire to be liked and render decisions thinking about their colleagues on the court, relevant social groups, and the general public, among others. Even if we accept Baum's theory as valid, how does one go about proving such a thing or putting it into practice? I'm going three stars here, because despite missing on the theory that he was making, the book provides a clear explanation for the other, occasionally vague theories of judicial behavior and for that reason has tremendous value, if not for the reason Mr. Baum hoped for.