An excellent introduction to judicial politics as a method of analysis, the eighth edition of Judicial Process and Judicial Policymaking focuses on policy in the judicial process. Rather than limiting the text to coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court, G. Alan Tarr examines the judiciary as the third branch of government, and weaves four major premises throughout the text: (1) Courts in the United States have always played an important role in governing and their role has increased in recent decades; (2) Judicial policymaking is a distinctive activity; (3) Courts make policy in a variety of ways; and (4) Courts may be the objects of public policy, as well as creators.
New to the Eighth Edition
- Discusses appointments by Presidents Donald Trump and Joseph Biden to the federal courts, including the confirmations of Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Coney Barrett, and Jackson to the Supreme Court
- Introduces the controversy of the Supreme Court’s “shadow docket”
- Analyzes the legal and political aftermath of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overruling Roe v. Wade
- Examines other key state and federal rulings on non-unanimous verdicts in criminal cases, gerrymandering, climate change, and separation between church and state
1 Courts and Law
PART I: Structures and Participants in the Judicial Process
2 The Federal and State Court Systems
3 Judges
4 Lawyers
PART II :Judicial Process and Judicial Decision Making
5 Trials and Appeals
6 Criminal Justice and the Courts
7 Civil Justice and the Courts
8 Judicial Decision Making
PART III: Judicial Policymaking
9 Judicial Policymaking: An Introduction
10 Federal Court Policymaking
11 State Court Policymaking
Biography
G. Alan Tarr received his doctorate from the University of Chicago. He is Board of Governors professor of political science emeritus and founder of the Center for State Constitutional Studies at Rutgers University, Camden. Professor Tarr has served as a constitutional consultant in Russia, South Africa, Cyprus, and Myanmar. A three-time NEH Fellow, he has most recently completed a study of judicial independence and accountability in the American states.
