Federal judges' perceptions of social research in judicial decision‐making

Abstract

Social science methods have come to play an ever increasing role in judicial decisions, particularly in civil rights cases. Results of an exploratory survey of the federal judiciary indicated at least two rather remarkable patterns. Although most federal judges thought knowledge of empirical methods could be helpful, they believed that a workable knowledge of such methods was not essential in either judicial rulings or legal education. Such thinking suggests several serious implications for the character and quality of judicial decisions and, as a result, offers students of communication and the law an important opportunity to contibute to the futher study of legal argument.

Notes

Ron Manuto and Sean Patrick O'Rourke are assistant professors in the Department of Speech Communication at Oregon State University.