Judicial Decision

Judicial Decision
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Judicial Decision
The legal perspective which involves the rule of law and formal procedures is what influences Judicial decision making. There have been many empirical studies that have been conducted to examine whether personal characteristics and beliefs as well as social background influences judicial decisions. Most of the studies suggest that no great level of correlation exists between personal beliefs and the decisions judges make. For example a judge's race or cultural values are not influential factors in explaining the decisions judge's make.
In the common jurisdictions of law, the statutory interpretation is used by the judges in the application of legislation. The words of the statute may be straightforward and plain in which case the judges will interpret them according to the Plain Meaning method. However, in cases where vagueness or ambiguity of words is found in words used in the statute, judges are required to resolve them using several approaches. The judges may use approaches including legislative history, the statutory traditional canons and purpose. Stare decisis (Rule of Precedent) is another approach. This means that judges are supposed to search and rely on similar court cases and decisions made in the past and convert them into a general principle of law called a standard, rule or test that can be applied in the case at hand. Judges apply legal reasoning to sele...