Litigant demand, not judicial discretion, determines district court dockets

Evidence

The Cases District courts exercise no discretion over the cases they hear. Any litigant who satisfies the jurisdictional requirements and follows proper legal procedures can initiate a case in federal district court. However, a federal district court cannot address a legal issue unless a litigant brings it before the court in a bona fide case, so litigant demand determines the business of the district courts. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 275

Categorization

• DEFINE: Contrasts the involuntary, demand-driven district court caseload against the discretionary certiorari docket of the Supreme Court.
• XREF: connects to: Caseload volume does not determine how much courts rely on plea bargaining — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1768; Judges can only rule on cases that litigants bring before them — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 593; Litigants shift between courts and legislatures depending on their expected chances — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3143 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Judicial discretion is channeled by constraints, not eliminated. #qualifies (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 188
• Appellate courts vary in how much discretion they exercise over which cases to hear. #complicates (0.83) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1462
• Judges can only rule on cases that litigants bring before them #expands (0.82) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 593
• Litigation selects for fringe and hard cases, not representative legal disputes #qualifies (0.79) — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 38
• Court composition changes drove litigants to shift between courts and legislatures #exemplifies (0.78) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3143
• Litigants shift between courts and legislatures depending on their expected chances #expands (0.76) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3143
• Trials and appeals are rare exceptions to routine case disposition in U.S. courts #complicates (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1601
• Caseload volume does not determine how much courts rely on plea bargaining #complicates (0.74) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1768