ABSTRACT
We Americans turn over more of our society's disputes, decisions and concerns to courts and lawyers than any other nation. Yet, in a society that places considerable value on democracy, courts would seem to have a peculiarly difficult problem justifying their power and maintaining their legitimacy. The judiciary is a non-majoritarian institution, whose guiding lights are neither popularly chosen nor even expected to express or implement the will of the people. Rather, its legitimacy rests on notions of honesty and fairness and, most importantly, on popular perceptions of the judicial decision-making process.
