Scholarship@WashULaw
Document Type
Book Review
Language
English (en)
Publication Date
2021
Publication Title
Law & Politics Book Review
Abstract
In their new book, Bonica and Sen promise a JUDICIAL TUG OF WAR, and they deliver. THE JUDICIAL TUG OF WAR: HOW LAWYERS, POLITICIANS, AND IDEOLOGICAL INCENTIVES SHAPE THE AMERICAN JUDICIARY investigates the battle between the legal profession and political elites “in which the judiciary not only is the prize to be won but is also caught in the middle” (p. 19). The result of this high stakes conflict is a judiciary tinged by politics. In modern times, the legal bar pulls the judiciary to the left, while political elites, on average, yank back toward the right. As Bonica and Sen argue, this “mismatch has acted like an earthquake fault line, exacerbating the judicial tug of war over the nation’s courts” (p. 14). THE JUDICIAL TUG OF WAR is smart, thorough, and well-executed in all ways as it tackles this incredibly salient topic.
Keywords
Judicial Appointments, Legal Profession, Political Elites, Ideology, Judiciary, Book Review
Publication Citation
Christina L. Boyd & Matthew E. Baker, Review of The Judicial Tug of War: How Lawyers, Politicians, and Ideological Incentives Shape the American Judiciary, 31 Law & Politics Book Review 111 (2021)
Repository Citation
Boyd, Christina L. and Baker, Matthew E., "Review of The Judicial Tug of War: How Lawyers, Politicians, and Ideological Incentives Shape the American Judiciary" (2021). Scholarship@WashULaw. 842.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_scholarship/842
Included in
Courts Commons, Judges Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Legal History Commons, Legal Profession Commons, Legal Studies Commons
Comments
Available online at Law and Politics Book Review. Sponsored by the Law and Courts Section of the American Political Science Association.