Judges on Judging: Views from the Bench

by David M. O'Brien (Editor)

How do justices and judges view their role in society? How do they defend their positions against rival and competing positions? Straight from the mouths of our nation's judges come interesting answers to these interesting questions. In David O'Brien's wide-ranging collection, Supreme Court justices, as well as lower federal court and state court judges, discuss the judicial process, constitutional interpretation, statutory interpretation, judicial federalism, and the role of the judiciary in American politics. A balanced mix of perspectives, these views from the bench feature commentary from such distinguished jurists as Bork, Rehnquist, and Scalia to Brennan, Breyer, Ginsburg, and Marshall.

Genres: Law

327 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Yousseif Abdellatif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look, Judges on Judging: Views from the Bench is a book I'd recommend with a warning label. It's brilliant for about two hundred pages and then it gets in its own way. O'Brien, David M. drops you into a failing carnival run by a family that can't stand each other, and the scene where the fortune teller reads her own brother's palm and tells him the truth is electric. Then the plot piles on one subplot too many and loses its grip. For readers who love a weird, colorful setting. Skip it if you hate when a book gets too stuffed.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best collection of essays from judges about the work of judging currently available in a single collection. a truly niche subject, I know, but that's why it's now in its 3rd or 4th edition. o'brien adds some nice essays of his own that knit together the disparate excerpts that comprise each section. i taught from this for years, but never read it in its entirety. highly recommended if you're teaching courses on american legal history or judicial politics.

[Sherry Grimes-jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great way to look in to the way judges are selected and some of the major cases they resided over

[Nelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this years ago for a class on judicial behavior. I wanted to go back and re-read some of the essays. Good stuff.

[Joseph R. Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful and a pleasantly quick-read! I highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in judicial decision-making.