The Judicial Tug of War Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction: The Tug of War Over the American Judiciary
- I The Legal Profession and the “Captured Judiciary”
- II Political Actors and the Incentive to Politicize
- 4 Politicians, Their Interests, and the Judicial Tug-of-War
- 5 Political Incentives and Politicization in the Federal Courts
- 6 Politicization in the States and Across Judicial Selection Mechanisms
- III Ramifications of the Judicial Tug-of-War
- Bibliography
- Index
- Other Books in the Series
4 - Politicians, Their Interests, and the Judicial Tug-of-War
from II - Political Actors and the Incentive to Politicize
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 December 2020
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction: The Tug of War Over the American Judiciary
- I The Legal Profession and the “Captured Judiciary”
- II Political Actors and the Incentive to Politicize
- 4 Politicians, Their Interests, and the Judicial Tug-of-War
- 5 Political Incentives and Politicization in the Federal Courts
- 6 Politicization in the States and Across Judicial Selection Mechanisms
- III Ramifications of the Judicial Tug-of-War
- Bibliography
- Index
- Other Books in the Series
Summary
We pivot in this part to discussing the other key player in the judicial tug of war – political elites. Chapter 4 begins by considering how the interests of political actors and those of the bar clash over the captured judiciary. Specifically, over time, political actors and lawyers have drifted apart ideologically, resulting in tension. This mismatch, we argue, sets the stage for contemporary fights over the politicization of the judiciary, over activist judges, and over the meritocracy of the judiciary – the judicial tug of war. We also note in this chapter that an increased interjection of “politics” into the selection of judges, although perhaps unappealing to many Americans, need not necessarily be undesirable; after all, having a judiciary that represents a greater variety of political and ideological interests (including conservative ones), and not just the bar’s, might be the most desirable from a normative perspective.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Judicial Tug of WarHow Lawyers, Politicians, and Ideological Incentives Shape the American Judiciary, pp. 105 - 140Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020