Women, Judging and the Judiciary

Rackley, Erika

doi:10.4324/9780203098189

Cited by 24 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It is generally agreed that the strength of the legal profession lies in its equality and diversity. Having more women as equal partners of male judges for a diverse and representative judiciary not only enriches its openness to viewpoints previously marginalized but underscores its legitimacy as one of the most powerful institutions ( Kenney, 2012 ; Rackley, 2012 ). I therefore look forward to more qualitative studies that can bring out women’s experiences in this area and empower women through their unique “different voice.”…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Gendered Justice in China: Victim–Offender Mediation as the “Different Voice” of Female Judges

Wei

2020

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Attempts to uncover the “different voice” of female judges through testing the statistical significance of judges’ gender in decision making have offered inconsistent results. Meanwhile, a proliferation of research suggests that such “voice” might be detected through qualitative analysis. Existing findings indicate that when female judges have discretionary power regarding case management, they will typically foster a process of settlement. Based on this information, I conducted eight months of fieldwork in China and observed 68 victim–offender mediations in four district courts. I found that the criminal division is widely perceived as a masculine setting, and female judges are accustomed to employing mediation as a preferred dispute resolution method to facilitate reconciliation between the two parties and seek civil compensation for victims. Such judicial behavior is a result of propaganda from the Supreme People’s Court and a reflection of female judges’ life and work experience. By contrast, a neglect of mediation among male judges can be identified in the same workplace. The belief that mediation is feminine and time-consuming contributes to this neglect. In addition, rape lawsuits are an exception for mediation. This explorative research not only represents one of the first efforts to reveal a “different voice” in the Chinese criminal justice system but points out a direction of research for studying the judicial behaviors of female judges worldwide.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Feminist legal scholars have also campaigned for gender equality and diversity in a judiciary which has long been perceived as “pale and male” ( Rackley, 2012 , p. 7). Research has revealed that women may be able to engage in agenda-setting for women’s equality and rights when they constitute a critical mass in political bodies ( Bratton, 2005 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered Justice in China: Victim–Offender Mediation as the “Different Voice” of Female Judges

Wei

2020

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thus, diversity is needed. And the point is not biology, but perspective (Hunter 2015, Kenney 2012, Rackley 2012. Beyond an unrealistic rejection of judicial review, a realistic assessment calls on us to do better.…”

Section: Are Courts Undemocratic?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Who cares? A defence of judicial review

Baer¹

2020

JBA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

For a long time, politicians and scholars and even judges have criticised national and international courts with the competence of judicial review of legislative and executive powers. The defence usually relies on more or less abstract notions of the rule of law. This article, however, argues that at the heart of the matter are people, as protected by fundamental rights. Critical approaches to the law and studies in comparative constitutionalism allow us to understand why judicial review matters, namely: to whom. From that point of view, judicial review is not just a debatable idea, but it is about, specifically, children and women, non-patriarchal men and social and cultural minorities, poor people and others who are excluded. These are people in need of courts. For people, the rule of law is not just another concept of how things may be run, but is a protective device against arbitrariness, or outright hostility, of political majorities. Way beyond a reference to Germany�s history, judicial review is a �never again� to law as an empty promise.

show abstract

“…Similarly, it has been suggested that female lawyers might make legal arguments whose content better reflects women's lives (MacKinnon 1990) and present those arguments differently to a court (Abrams 1991). They also may reject the traditionally combative style of courtroom litigation in favor of the more, dialogue-centered and consensus-focused methods of negotiation, mediation, and other forms of ADR (Colker 1990; Menkel-Meadow 1985; Rackley 2012). And, as in the gender dynamics identified in Congressional committees (Volden, Wiseman, and Wittmer 2013b), female jurors might focus more on constructing agreements rather than provoking or prolonging conflict (see, e.g., Taylor-Thompson 2000).…”

Section: Gender and Litigant Decision-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avoiding Adversariness? The Effects of Gender on Litigant Decision-Making

Wofford

2017

Pol & Gen

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

How does gender influence the American judicial system? Scholars interested in this question have focused on several areas, including the substance of the law (Bender 1993; Olsen 1995; Rifkin 1981), the presence of women on a jury (Fowler 2005; Marder 1987; Taylor-Thompson 2000), and the sex of criminal defendants (Sarnikar, Sorenson, and Oaxaca 2007; Starr 2012). Among political scientists in particular, most work has examined judicial decision-making and whether the rulings of female judges differ from those of their male counterparts. Results of these studies have been mixed: some indicate that female judges vote differently, at least in certain types of cases (Boyd, Epstein, and Martin 2010; Peresie 2005; Songer and Crews-Meyer 2000), but others have found no, or only a minimal, gender effect (Segal 2002; Songer, Davis, and Haire 1994; Walker and Barrow 1985).

show abstract

Women, Judging and the Judiciary

Cited by 24 publications

References 0 publications

Gendered Justice in China: Victim–Offender Mediation as the “Different Voice” of Female Judges

Gendered Justice in China: Victim–Offender Mediation as the “Different Voice” of Female Judges

Who cares? A defence of judicial review

Avoiding Adversariness? The Effects of Gender on Litigant Decision-Making

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About