Judges’ values and discretion mean who sits matters for outcomes

Evidence

Rather, partisans on both sides recognized that even judges who seek to banish personal predilections and decide in accord with the law may arrive at quite different conclusions. These differences among judges may occur because judges’ views and values inevitably influence their judgment, because the exercise of judgment necessarily involves an element of discretion, or for a variety of other reasons. But whatever the reason, the possibility that judges may have different perspectives on the same legal question underlines the importance of who judges. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 499

Categorization

• XREF: Builds on the earlier chapter-6 claim that judicial discretion is constrained but never wholly eliminated. — connects to: Panel composition influences outcomes, so circuits randomize judge assignment — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 366; Judicial discretion is constrained but never wholly eliminated. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 198; No judicial selection system fully eliminates political influence — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 498 (+14 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 (0.92) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 156
• Judges’ politics, gender, and family shape their rulings empirically #exemplifies (0.90)
• Judges’ race, gender, and politics measurably shift their case outcomes #exemplifies (0.90) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 750
• Judicial decisions result from attitudes, role conceptions, and institutional constraints interacting together. #expands (0.90) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1286
• Judges’ personal attributes and even trivial bodily states can shape decisions #expands (0.88)
• A complete account of judging combines legal rules with attitude-influenced discretion #expands (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2649
• Hidden value judgments, not logic, drive key judicial decisions #corroborates (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2550
• Judging requires selecting relevant facts and evaluating relative values #expands (0.85) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 165
• Legal realists hold judges’ attributes shape judicial outcomes #corroborates (0.82)
• Generational political events shape judges’ values like those of other citizens #expands (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2575
• Judicial decisions are governed by beliefs about facts and rules #qualifies (0.78) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 160