1 Foundations of Law in the United States 1
Sources of Law in the United States 2
Types of Law in the United States 5
Functions of Law 7
The United States and the Rule of Law 10
A Litigious Society 14
Summary 16
2 History, Function, and Organization of the Federal and State Judicial Systems 19
The Historical Context 20
The U.S. Supreme Court 21
The U.S. Courts of Appeals 32
U.S. District Courts 42
Constitutional Courts and Legislative courts 47
The Federal Courts in the American Political System 49
State Court Systems 52
State Court Organization 55
Summary 60
3 Administrative and Staff Support in the Judiciary 65
The Judicial Administration Movement 65
Major Federal Administrative Support Structures 69
Personnel Support 78
Summary 89
4 Lawyers, Litigants, and Interest Groups in the Judicial Process 93
Lawyers and the Legal Profession 93
Litigants 107
Interest Groups in the Judicial Process 109
Summary 114
5 Jurisdiction, Work Load, and Policy-Making Boundaries of Federal and State Courts 119
Federal Courts 119
Jurisdiction and Work Load of State Courts 127
Jurisdiction and Legislative Politics 130
Judicial Self-Restraint 131
Summary 144
6 The Criminal Court Process 147
The Nature and Substance of Crime 147
Categories of Crime 148
Elements of a Crime 152
Procedures Before a Criminal Trial 156
Procedures During a Criminal Trial 170
Procedures After a Criminal Trial 183
Summary 188
7 The Civil Court Process 191
The Nature and Substance of Civil Law 191
The Main Categories of Civil Law 192
The Courts and Other Institutions Concerned with Civil Law 197
The Civil Trial Process 199
Summary 212
8 The Federal and State Judges 215
Background Characteristics of Federal Judges 215
Formal and Informal Qualifications of Federal Judges 224
Qualifications and Backgrounds of State Judges 229
The Federal Selection Process and Its Participants 230
The Selection Process for State Judges 240
Policy Links Between the Citizenry, the President, and the Federal Judiciary 246
The Judicial Socialization Process 259
The Retirement and Removal of Judges 263
Summary 269
9 The Decision-Making Process 275
The Legal Subculture 277
The Democratic Subculture 283
Summary 314
10 Decision Making: The Special Case of Collegial Courts 321
Cue Theory 322
Small-Group Analysis 324
Attitude Theory and Bloc-Formation Analysis 340
Fact Pattern Analysis 344
Summary 346
11 Implementation and Impact of Judicial Policies 351
The Impact of Higher-Court Decisions on Lower Courts 351
Congressional Influences on the Implementation Process 359
Executive Branch Influences on the Implementation Process 362
Other Implementors 366
The Impact of Judicial Policies 368
Summary 375
12 Policy Making by American Judges: An Attempt at Synthesis 381
The Nature of the Case or Issue 381
The Values and Orientations of the Judges 384
The Nature of the Judicial Decision-Making Process 387
The Impact of Extraneous Influences 390
Selected Bibliography 393
Index 403