1 Foundations of Law in the United States 1
Sources of Law in the United States 1
Types of Law in the United States 4
Functions of Law 6
The United States and the Rule of Law 9
A Litigious Society 12
Summary 14
2 History, Function, and Organization of the Federal and State Judicial Systems 17
The Historical Context 17
The U.S. Supreme Court 19
The U.S. Courts of Appeals 31
U.S. District Courts 40
Constitutional Courts and Legislative Courts 45
The Federal Courts in the American Political System 47
State Court Systems 49
State Court Organization 52
Summary 55
3 Administrative and Staff Support in the Judiciary 59
The Judicial Administration Movement 59
Major Administrative Support Structures 63
Personnel Support 73
Summary 81
4 Lawyers, Litigants, and Interest Groups in the Judicial Process 85
Lawyers and the Legal Profession 85
Litigants 99
Interest Groups in the Judicial Process 101
Summary 105
5 Jurisdiction, Workload, and Policy-Making Boundaries of Federal and State Courts 109
Federal Courts 109
Jurisdiction and Workload of State Courts 117
Jurisdiction and Legislative Politics 119
Judicial Self-Restraint 120
Summary 131
6 The Criminal Court Process 135
The Nature and Substance of Crime 135
Categories of Crime 136
Elements of a Crime 140
Procedures Before a Criminal Trial 144
Procedures During a Criminal Trial 158
Procedures After a Criminal Trial 168
Summary 173
7 The Civil Court Process 177
The Nature and Substance of Civil Law 177
The Main Categories of Civil Law 178
The Courts and Other Institutions Concerned with Civil Law 183
The Civil Trial Process 185
Summary 198
8 The Federal and State Judges 201
Background Characteristics of Federal Judges 201
Formal and Informal Qualifications of Federal Judges 210
Qualifications and Backgrounds of State Judges 214
The Federal Selection Process and Its Participants 215
The Selection Process for State Judges 224
Policy Links Between the Citizenry, the President, and the Federal Judiciary 229
The Judicial Socialization Process 240
The Retirement and Removal of Judges 244
Summary 249
9 The Decision-Making Process 255
The Legal Subculture 257
The Democratic Subculture 263
Summary 292
10 Decision Making: The Special Case of Collegial Courts 297
Cue Theory 297
Small-Group Analysis 300
Attitude Theory and Bloc-Formation Analysis 315
Fact Pattern Analysis 319
Summary 321
11 Implementation and Impact of Judicial Policies 327
The Impact of Upper-Court Decisions on Lower Courts 327
Congressional Influences on the Implementation Process 335
Executive Branch Influences on the Implementation Process 338
Other Implementors 341
The Impact of Judicial Policies 344
Summary 350
12 Policy Making by American Judges: An Attempt at Synthesis 355
The Nature of the Case or Issue 355
The Values and Orientations of the Judges 358
The Nature of the Judicial Decision-Making Process 361
The Impact of Extraneous Influences 364
Selected Bibliography 367
Index 377