Overview

"In Reflections on Judging, Richard Posner distills the experience of his thirty-one years as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Surveying how the judiciary has changed since his 1981 appointment, he engages the issues at stake today, suggesting how lawyers should argue cases and judges decide them, how trials can be improved, and, most urgently, how to cope with the dizzying pace of technological advance that makes litigation ever more challenging to judges and lawyers. For Posner, legal formalism presents one of the main obstacles to tackling these problems. Formalist judges--most notably Justice Antonin Scalia--needlessly complicate the legal process by advocating ""canons of constructions"" (principles for interpreting statutes and the Constitution) that are confusing and self-contradictory. Posner calls instead for a renewed commitment to legal realism, whereby a good judge gathers facts, carefully considers context, and comes to a sensible conclusion that avoids inflicting collateral damage on other areas of the law. This, Posner believes, was the approach of the jurists he most admires and seeks to emulate: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo, Learned Hand, Robert Jackson, and Henry Friendly, and it is an approach that can best resolve our twenty-first-century legal disputes."

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Reviews

<b>Posner</b> is a precise, erudite writer with a strong point of view enriched by specific examples accumulated over the course of three decades of professional experience and observation Posner's insights will resonate with jurists and those who practice before them. His book is highly recommended for those in the legal profession and other court watchers.--Joan Pedzich Library Journal (starred review) (09/01/2013)

A deep and thought-provoking collection of insightful analyses of various aspects of being a judge, told from an insider's perspective, but with appropriate and equally thoughtful caveats about the advantages and disadvantages of an insider's account.--Frederick Schauer, University Of Virginia School Of Law

A deep and thought-provoking collection of insightful analyses of various aspects of being a judge, told from an insider's perspective, but with appropriate and equally thoughtful caveats about the advantages and disadvantages of an insider's account.--Frederick Schauer, University of Virginia School of Law

A deep and thought-provoking collection of insightful analyses of various aspects of being a judge, told from an insider's perspective, but with appropriate and equally thoughtful caveats about the advantages and disadvantages of an insider's account.--Frederick Schauer, University of Virginia School of Law Posner is a precise, erudite writer with a strong point of view enriched by specific examples accumulated over the course of three decades of professional experience and observation Posner's insights will resonate with jurists and those who practice before them. His book is highly recommended for those in the legal profession and other court watchers.--Joan Pedzich Library Journal (starred review) (09/01/2013) Reflections on Judging is about what judges should do when confronted with complexity. Like the rest of us, judges face an increasingly bewildering world, marked by daily advances in such areas as social media, the sciences and globalization. Unlike the rest of us, judges must make decisions that enforce their understanding or misunderstanding of that complexity onto millions [Posner s] willingness to speak to his readers judges or otherwise as a jurist with three decades of experience is a strength of this book Reflections on Judging is spangled with legal cases in which Posner, faced with disorder, triumphantly cuts through the noise In Richard A. Posner, our generation has its Learned Hand, its Henry Friendly. In complex times, we can take comfort in the simple fact of his existence.--Kenji Yoshino New York Times Book Review (11/10/2013) Reflections on Judging is about what judges should do when confronted with complexity. Like the rest of us, judges face an increasingly bewildering world, marked by daily advances in such areas as social media, the sciences and globalization. Unlike the rest of us, judges must make decisions that enforce their understanding or misunderstanding of that complexity onto millions [Posner s] willingness to speak to his readers judges or otherwise as a jurist with three decades of experience is a strength of this book Reflections on Judging is spangled with legal cases in which Posner, faced with disorder, triumphantly cuts through the noise In Richard A. Posner, our generation has its Learned Hand, its Henry Friendly. In complex times, we can take comfort in the simple fact of his existence.--Kenji Yoshino New York Times Book Review (11/10/2013) Posner is a precise, erudite writer with a strong point of view enriched by specific examples accumulated over the course of three decades of professional experience and observation Posner's insights will resonate with jurists and those who practice before them. His book is highly recommended for those in the legal profession and other court watchers.--Joan Pedzich Library Journal (starred review) (09/01/2013)

Author Information

Richard A. Posner retired as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2017. He was previously a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School.

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