ABSTRACT
What does Cardozo tell us about the nature of the judicial process?
Cardozo (1870-1938) was a very successful New York lawyer who became Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the State of New York in 1917. He was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1932, following the resignation of Justice Holmes, and served until 1938. He wrote widely on aspects of jurisprudence, basing his views on the realist approach of the ‘integrative jurisprudence’ school, whose members stressed the importance of viewing the aims and procedures of the law in relation to specific social conditions. A humanitarian and liberal, Cardozo’s thinking concentrated in large measure on the tasks and responsibilities of the judge. The following answer plan is suggested:
Introduction – Cardozo and integrative jurisprudence – the task of the judge – the significance of the will of the judge – precedent and its importance for the legal process – the essence of rational coherence in the law – criticisms of Cardozo – conclusion, Cardozo’s contribution to our comprehension of the judicial process.
