I examine all cases decided by the New York State Ethics Commission between 1980-2005 to determine the rates at which judges are cited for ethical violations and the types of violations they receive. I find, using data from over 650 ethics citations, that judges cited often 1) exhibit a pattern...

From some of the highly-publicized trials of the 1960's - namely the trials of the Chicago Eight, Panther Twenty-One, Weathermen - we can draw indispensable lessons about the role of the judges in upholding and promoting a fair justice system. The contract to Judge Julius Hoffman's notorious...

In this paper we investigate the relationship between the number of lawyers and civil litigation across Italian provinces over the period 2000-2005. First, we document the existence of a positive correlation between the number of lawyers and litigation. We then employ a 2SLS approach to verify...

Several countries practice a system where laymen, who lack legal education, participate in the judicial decision making. Yet, little is known about their potential influence on the court rulings. In Sweden lay judges (namndeman) are affiliated with the political parties and appointed in...