{"product_id":"checking-the-courts-kirk-a-randazzo-9781438452883","title":"Checking the Courts: Law, Ideology, and Contingent Discretion","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eExamines and measures the extent to which statutory language affects judicial behavior.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow does the language of legislative statutes affect judicial behavior? Scholars of the judiciary have rarely studied this question despite statutes being, theoretically, the primary opportunity for legislatures to ensure that those individuals who interpret the law will follow their preferences. In \u003ci\u003eChecking the Courts\u003c\/i\u003e, Kirk A. Randazzo and Richard W. Waterman offer a model that integrates ideological and legal factors through an empirical measure of statutory discretion. The model is tested across multiple judicial institutions, at both the federal and state levels, and reveals that judges are influenced by the levels of discretion afforded in the legislative statutes. In those cases where lawmakers have clear policy preferences, legislation encourages judges to strictly interpret the plain meaning of the law. Conversely, if policy preferences are unclear, legislation leaves open the possibility that judges will make decisions based on their own ideological policy preferences. \u003ci\u003eChecking the Courts\u003c\/i\u003e thus provides us with a better understanding of the dynamic interplay between law and ideology.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Kirk a. Randazzo,Richard W. Waterman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1438452888\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781438452883\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e State University of New York Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/02\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 215\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.60d","brand":"Kirk a. Randazzo","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48444871377151,"sku":"9781438452883","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_55bd2ff5-2555-4e81-9712-d379241d12ae.jpg?v=1777215115","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/checking-the-courts-kirk-a-randazzo-9781438452883","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}