ABSTRACT
Words like 'discretion' and 'choice' have different senses, and it is conceivable that some who say that judges have discretion mean simply that judges have decisions to make, not already made by others for them, or that judges must reason or make judgments of one sort or another in making these decisions. The conclusion, that judges have discretion, is drawn from a comparison of the role of rules in law as it is with what that role would be if all cases were textbook cases. Some will say: Perhaps the theory is wrong which holds that judges exercise discretion whenever their decisions are not determined by rules. Judicial discretion might be rarer than some enthusiasts have claimed; but is it not equally silly to contend that discretion has no place in the legal universe? A legal arrangement could, It suppose, include an area of discretion after some point along the spectrum of difficulty.
