Creating the law : state supreme court opinions and the effect of audiences / Michael K. Romano and Todd A. Curry.
2020
KF8736 .R66 2019 (Mapit)
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Details
Author
Title
Creating the law : state supreme court opinions and the effect of audiences / Michael K. Romano and Todd A. Curry.
Added Author
Imprint
New York, NY : Routledge, 2020.
Description
xiii, 183 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.
Series
Law, courts and politics.
Formatted Contents Note
Introduction
Judicial Representation, Written Opinions, and Audiences
Writing for An Audience : Framing and Opinion Content
Accommodating for Dissent : The Effect of Minority Voices on Majority Opinions
Efficiency or Strategy : Per Curiam Usage on State Supreme Courts
The Political Ramifications of Opinion Content : Unanimity and Strategic Writing
Conclusion.
Judicial Representation, Written Opinions, and Audiences
Writing for An Audience : Framing and Opinion Content
Accommodating for Dissent : The Effect of Minority Voices on Majority Opinions
Efficiency or Strategy : Per Curiam Usage on State Supreme Courts
The Political Ramifications of Opinion Content : Unanimity and Strategic Writing
Conclusion.
Summary
"Written opinions are the primary means by which judges communicate with external actors. These opinions include the parties to the case itself, but also more broadly journalists, public officials, lawyers, other judges, and increasingly, the mass public. In Creating the Law, Michael K. Romano and Todd A. Curry examine the extent to which judges tailor their language in order to avoid retribution during their retention, and how institutional variations involving intra-chamber dynamics may influence the written word of a legal opinion. Using an extensive dataset that includes the text of all death penalty and education decisions issued by state supreme courts from 1995-2010, Romano and Curry are the first to examine the connection between retention incentives and language choices. They utilize text analysis techniques developed in the field of communications and apply them to the text of judicial decisions. In doing so, they find that judges write with their audience in mind, and emphasize dueling strategies of justification and persuasion in order to please diverse audiences that may be paying attention. Furthermore, the process of drafting a majority opinion is a team exercise, and when more individuals are involved in its crafting, the product will reflect this complexity. This book gives students the tools for understanding how institutional variation affects judicial outcomes and shows how language relates to decision making in the judiciary more specifically"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Available in Other Form
Online version: Romano, Michael K., Creating the law 1. New York : 2019.
Call Number
KF8736 .R66 2019
Language
English
ISBN
9781138616837 hardcover
1138616834 hardcover
9781138616844 paperback
1138616842 paperback
9780429461828 electronic book
9780429867866 electronic book
9780429867873 electronic book
9780429867859 electronic book
1138616834 hardcover
9781138616844 paperback
1138616842 paperback
9780429461828 electronic book
9780429867866 electronic book
9780429867873 electronic book
9780429867859 electronic book
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