In this sweeping study of the judicial opinion, William D. Popkin examines how judges' opinions have been presented from the early American Republic to the present. Throughout history, he maintains, judges have presented their opinions within political contexts that involve projecting judicial authority to the external public, yet within a professional legal culture that requires opinions to develop judicial law through particular institutional and individual judicial styles.
Tracing the history of judicial opinion from its roots in English common law, Popkin documents a general...
In this sweeping study of the judicial opinion, William D. Popkin examines how judges' opinions have been presented from the early American Republi...
How do judges determine the meaning of laws? The extent to which judges should exercise their discretion in interpreting legislation has been a contentious issue throughout American history, involving questions about the balance of power between the legislature and the judiciary. In "Statutes in Court" William D. Popkin provides an indispensable survey of the history of American statutory interpretation and then offers his own theory of "ordinary judging" that defines the proper scope of judicial discretion. Popkin begins by discussing the British origins of statutory interpretation in...
How do judges determine the meaning of laws? The extent to which judges should exercise their discretion in interpreting legislation has been a conten...
