Laughing at the gods : great judges and how they made the common law / Allan C. Hutchinson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hutchinson, Allan C., 1951-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Judges--Biography.

Judges.

Common law--History.

Common law.

History.

Judge-made law--History.

Judge-made law.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

x, 318 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Summary:

Any effort to understand how law works has to take, seriously its main players - judges. Like any performance, judging should be evaluated by reference to those who are its best exponents. Not surprisingly, the debate about what makes a great judge is as heated and inconclusive as the debate about the purpose and nature of law itself. History shows that those who are generally considered to be candidates for a judicial hall of fame are game changers who oblige us to rethink what it is to be a good judge. So the best of judges must tread a thin line between modesty and hubris; they must be neither mere umpires nor demigods. The eight judges showcased in this book demonstrate that if the test of good judging is not about getting it right but about doing it well, then the measure of great judging is about setting new standards for what counts as judging well. Book jacket.

Contents:

In search of great judges : playing by their own rules

Lord Mansfield : a long journey

John Marshall : a founding judge

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. : the magnificent yankee

James Atkin : an ordinary person

Tom Denning : an English gardener

Thurgood Marshall : a man on a mission

Bertha Wilson : making the difference

Albie Sachs : of struggles and lies

Judging the future : a leap in the dark.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-299) and index.

ISBN:

9781107017269

1107017262

9781107662766

1107662761

OCLC:

743432490