Ambiguous law is filtered through the judge’s personal lens

Evidence

Even these cases, of course, may not be as cut and dried as one might think. As every law student comes to know, the law is often cloudy, ambiguous, uncertain. What the judge sees as the law is, in many cases, a little like a social inkblot test. The judge sees the case through his or her personal lenses. In these cases, the law is not in the books; it is inside the judge’s head. — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 427

Categorization

• DEFINE: Vivid inkblot metaphor for how legal ambiguity is resolved by the judge’s own perceptions.
• XREF: connects to: A state supreme court justice openly treated the bench as personal fiat — Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up: Environmental…, 259; Judges’ personal attributes and even trivial bodily states can shape decisions; A judge’s self-interest in avoiding admitted error shapes legal rulings — Jonathan Harr, A Civil Action, 2732 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Judge attributes beyond the law shape judicial outcomes #expands (0.95) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 746
• Judges rely on personal values when competing legal principles are evenly balanced #expands (0.93) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 156
• Judges’ personal attributes and even trivial bodily states can shape decisions #expands (0.90)
• Hidden value judgments, not logic, drive key judicial decisions #corroborates (0.88) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2550
• Legal training and role orientation partially neutralize judges’ personal beliefs #qualifies (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1366
• Courts have the essential duty to interpret conflicting laws and constitutions #qualifies (0.82) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 481
• A complete account of judging combines legal rules with attitude-influenced discretion #corroborates (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2649
• Judges’ politics, gender, and family shape their rulings empirically #exemplifies (0.78)
• A judge’s self-interest in avoiding admitted error shapes legal rulings #exemplifies (0.72) — Jonathan Harr, A Civil Action, 2732