Judicial decisions result from attitudes, role conceptions, and institutional constraints interacting together.

Evidence

The attitudes of judges determine what they want to do; their role conceptions— that is, their conceptions of proper judicial behavior—affect what judges believe they ought to do; and public opinion and the institutional context in which they operate circumscribe what judges find it feasible to do. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1286

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the three-factor model (attitudes, role conceptions, feasibility) that frames the attitudinal/role approach to judicial decision making.
• XREF: connects to: The law rarely dictates outcomes, so judges’ political views decide most cases. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1283; Judicial discretion, though freedom-like, remains disciplined by tradition, analogy, and system. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1295; Justices’ ideological outlooks directly produce their voting patterns. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1312 (+24 more)

Broader Connections

• Legal training and role orientation partially neutralize judges’ personal beliefs #qualifies (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1366
• Judicial decisions are governed by beliefs about facts and rules #expands (0.82) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 160
• A complete account of judging combines legal rules with attitude-influenced discretion #qualifies (0.82) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2649
• Judges’ role conceptions can override their personal moral beliefs in voting #qualifies (0.82) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1325
• Judicial decisions blend clear-law obedience with attitude-driven choice in ambiguous cases #qualifies (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1365
• Judges’ politics, gender, and family shape their rulings empirically #expands (0.80)
• Regional political culture shapes the attitudes judges bring to the bench #expands (0.78) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2576
• The legal perspective holds law as the primary determinant of judicial decisions #qualifies (0.78) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1360
• Generational events shape judicial attitudes along with everyone else’s. #expands (0.78) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1306
• Judges’ personal attributes and even trivial bodily states can shape decisions #expands (0.75)
• Court structure shapes which policy issues a supreme court can address. #expands (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 441
• Norms of proper judicial conduct vary across courts and over time #expands (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2610
• Court structural reforms produce diverse and often unanticipated governance effects #expands (0.72) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 459