The judges
Subtitle: a penetrating exploration of American courts and of the new decisions--hard decisions--they must make for a new millennium
By: Martin Mayer
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Truman Talley Books/St. Martin's Press
Published: 2007
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 450
ISBN-13: 9780312289751
Subjects: Law; Courts; Administration of Justice
Description: "Our courts, the third branch of the government, are central in the administration of our democracy. But their operations are shrouded in a mythology--which this book pierces. Many of our 30,000 judges are hard-working and distinguished jurists; most are simply lawyers who knew a politician. It does not help that the job pays poorly. We have no judicial profession: we do not train judges before or after they mount the bench. There is no national court system. Fifty states, a federal government, counties and municipalities all have their own courts, their own rules and their own laws and are deluged with cases filed by a million lawyers. Less than 3% of criminal charges and 4% of civil disputes are resolved in court. This noted author argues that a specialized world demands specialized courts and judges expert in the subjects they must consider.--From publisher description."--Source other than the Library of Congress.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The monastic bench; title: Confronting the myths; title: The origin of the species : historical precedents; title: In practice : therapy court in Brooklyn; title: Decisions, decisions, decisions; title: In practice : the tax court; title: 30,000 judges, 100 million cases : the scope of the enterprise; title: In practice : the Colorado water courts; title: Electing and selecting judges; title: In practice : at the poverty level in Phoenix; title: Teaching judges to judge; title: In practice : administrative law; title: The politics of supremacy; title: The loss of authority; title: Opinions.