Written opinions and the craft of judging constrain judicial value-based decision making.

Evidence

If judicial decision making does not proceed by deductive reasoning, can judges not manipulate precedents and other legal materials in order to decide cases on the basis of their personal values? There is no simple answer to this question. One check on judges is that they must explain and justify their rulings in written opinions. These opinions are subject to public scrutiny and criticism, which imposes some limitation on judges. In addition, judges operate within constraints imposed by the craft of judging and the traditions of the law. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2543

Categorization

• DEFINE: Identifies the craft of judging and legal tradition as constraints on discretion.
• SEED: Article angle: do public scrutiny of opinions actually constrain judges, or only rationalize outcomes reached on other grounds?
• XREF: connects to: Judicial influence on the Supreme Court is exercised through written opinions — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 945