Rationalizing Justice

Rationalizing Justice
Author: Wolf Heydebrand
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 340
Release: 1990-09-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780791402962

This book connects the history and organization of the federal district courts to the emergence of a new technocratic form of justice. The centerpiece of this study is the clash between adjudication — the traditional model of dispute resolution — and the introduction of modern management techniques. From the perspective of the federal trial courts, the authors examine the tension between adjudication and administration. They show dramatic changes in the nature of judicial decision-making and the emergence of new forms of court organization. These changes signal a potential crisis of the judicial system, and Heydebrand and Seron provide insights into its nature and direction, and the immense structural forces underlying the administration of justice in America.

Rationalizing Justice

Rationalizing Justice
Author: Wolf Heydebrand
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 334
Release: 1990-09-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1438406657

This book connects the history and organization of the federal district courts to the emergence of a new technocratic form of justice. The centerpiece of this study is the clash between adjudication — the traditional model of dispute resolution — and the introduction of modern management techniques. From the perspective of the federal trial courts, the authors examine the tension between adjudication and administration. They show dramatic changes in the nature of judicial decision-making and the emergence of new forms of court organization. These changes signal a potential crisis of the judicial system, and Heydebrand and Seron provide insights into its nature and direction, and the immense structural forces underlying the administration of justice in America.

Decision Making in Criminal Justice

Decision Making in Criminal Justice
Author: Michael R. Gottfredson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2013-11-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1475799543

The study of decisions in the criminal justice process provides a useful focus for the examination of many fundamental aspects of criminal jus tice. These decisions are not always highly visible. They are made, or dinarily, within wide areas of discretion. The aims of the decisions are not always clear, and, indeed, the principal objectives of these decisions are often the subject of much debate. Usually they are not guided by explicit decision policies. Often the participants are unable to verbalize the basis for the selection of decision alternatives. Adequate information for the decisions is usually unavailable. Rarely can the decisions be demonstrated to be rational. By a rationaldecision we mean "that decision among those possible for the decisionmaker which, in the light of the information available, maximizes the probability of the achievement of the purpose of the decisionmaker in that specific and particular case" (Wilkins, 1974a: 70; also 1969). This definition, which stems from statistical decision theory, points to three fundamental characteristics of decisions. First, it is as sumed that a choice of possible decisions (or, more precisely, of possible alternatives) is available. If only one choice is possible, there is no de cision problem, and the question of rationality does not arise. Usually, of course, there will be a choice, even if the alternative is to decide not to decide-a choice that, of course, often has profound consequences.

The Judicial Branch of Federal Government

The Judicial Branch of Federal Government
Author: Charles L. Zelden
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2007-07-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1851097074

This volume in ABC-CLIO's About Federal Government set looks at the history and daily operations of the federal judiciary, from district courts, to courts of appeal, to the Supreme Court. The Judicial Branch of Federal Government: People, Process, and Politics shows how the federal courts act as interpreters of the law, definers of rules, and shapers of policy, covering the judiciary throughout U.S. history and as it functions today. In one concise yet comprehensive resource, The Judicial Branch of Federal Government describes the constitutionally ascribed roles and structures of the courts. It looks at the men and women who serve on the federal bench (who they are and how they are appointed), as well as the fascinating relationship of the federal courts with the legislative and executive branches and with the 50 state court systems.

Rationalizing Culture

Rationalizing Culture
Author: Georgina Born
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 415
Release: 1995-09-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520202163

As a year-long participant-observer, Born studied the social and cultural economy of an institution for research and production of avant-garde and computer music. She gives a unique portrait of IRCAM's composers, computer scientists, technicians, and secretaries, interrogating the effects of the cultural philosophy of the controversial avant-garde composer, Pierre Boulez, who directed the institute until 1992.

Race Neutrality

Race Neutrality
Author: Samuel L. Myers
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2018-10-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0739185624

There are wide racial disparities in virtually every sphere of economic life. African American workers earn less than whites. They are more likely to be denied loans than whites. Minority-owned businesses are less likely to win lucrative bids on state and federal contracts than are white male owned businesses. Black children are more likely than whites to be reported to child protective services for neglect or abuse. There are even huge disparities in downing rates between blacks and whites. What to do about these disparities? There is a fundamental disagreement about the appropriate remedies to these varied indicators of racial inequality. Part of the disagreement stems from differences in public perceptions about the underlying causes of the inequality. But, another form of disagreement relates to the opposition to the remedy of choice during much of the 1970s and 1980s: Affirmative Action. Race conscious remedies -- like affirmative action policies in hiring, college admissions, and business contracting -- suffer from legal and constitutional challenges, compounded by hostility from the majority of Americans. The alternative – race-neutral remedies – attempt to address racial disparities without directly targeting benefits exclusively to racial minority group members. In doing so, race-neutral remedies putatively help minorities without hurting majority group members. The authors of Race Neutrality: Rationalizing Remedies to Racial Inequality make the case that policy analysts should shift from a focus on whether a remedy is race-conscious or not to a focus on the underlying problem that the alternative remedies is attempting to resolve. This type of rethinking of the problem of racial inequality will reveal that sometimes race-neutral remedies hold great promise in reducing disparities. Often, however, race-neutral remedies fail to do what they are intended to do. The authors challenge the reader to think about why race-neutral remedies—while desireable on their face—might fail to resolve protracted and persistent patterns of racial inequality in market and non-market contexts.

The Torture Memos

The Torture Memos
Author: David Cole
Publisher: The New Press
Total Pages: 333
Release: 2009-09-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1595584935

On April 16, 2009, the Justice Department released never-before-seen secret memos describing, in graphic detail, the brutal interrogation techniques used by the CIA under the Bush administration's "war on terror." Now, for the first time, the key documents are compiled in one remarkable volume, showing that the United States government's top attorneys were instrumental in rationalizing acts of torture and cruelty, employing chillingly twisted logic and Orwellian reasoning to authorize what the law absolutely forbids. This collection gives readers an unfiltered look at the tactics approved for use in the CIA's secret overseas prisons—including forcing detainees to stay awake for eleven days straight, slamming them against walls, stripping them naked, locking them in a small box with insects to manipulate their fears, and, of course, waterboarding—and at the incredible arguments advanced to give them a green light. Originally issued in secret by the Office of Legal Counsel between 2002 and 2005, the documents collected here have been edited only to eliminate repetition. They reflect, in their own words, the analysis that guided the legal architects of the Bush administration's interrogation policies. Renowned legal scholar David Cole's introductory essay tells the story behind the memos, and presents a compelling case that instead of demanding that the CIA conform its conduct to the law, the nation's top lawyers contorted the law to conform to the CIA's abusive and patently illegal conduct. He argues eloquently that official accountability for these legal wrongs is essential if the United States is to restore fidelity to the rule of law.

Courts, Politics, and the Judicial Process

Courts, Politics, and the Judicial Process
Author: Christopher E. Smith
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing Company
Total Pages: 380
Release: 1997
Genre: Education
ISBN:

This reorganized and updated text provides a comprehensive examination of the American judicial system by describing and analyzing political influences on courts' structure, procedures, decision-making processes, and consequences for society. Professor Smith focuses on courts rather than on law because of the recognition that the content of law often depends on the composition of the judiciary, citizens' access to the judicial process, and judicial decision-making procedures. This revealing study of the courts challenges the myths and popular perceptions about law and justice in American society and covers unique topics such as court bureaucracy; subordinates' influences on judges' decisions; and social science approaches to decision making.

Politics and Judgment in Federal District Courts

Politics and Judgment in Federal District Courts
Author: C. K. Rowland
Publisher:
Total Pages: 234
Release: 1996
Genre: Law
ISBN:

"A major empirical and theoretical work that has the potential for becoming a classic in the field". -- Sheldon Goldman, author of The Federal Courts as a Political System. "This provocative theoretical approach should be of great interest to scholars and students of the federal bench". -- Elliott E. Slotnick, editor of Judicial Politics.