Gov 357L Judicial Process and Behavior
Unique number: 38470
Room Mezes B 0.306
Welcome to Dr. Alan Sager’s Spring 2025 course.
Course Overview | Course Goals | Requirements | Grading | Office Hours | Suggestions
About Dr.Sager
I look forward to teaching and working with you this semester. In case you do not know me, I have a J.D. from Michigan and a Ph.d. from Northwestern in Political Science.
I have done many things in my life including practicing law, teaching, running a business with 300 employees in 3 states, being in the political polling and consulting business, and working on the staff of Chief Justice Warren Burger among other things. I have taught part time at U.T. for more than 30 years and full-time back in the late 60’s and early 70’s before I went to the Supreme Court and the Federal Judicial Center. I continue teaching because I love doing it and I love the law, judicial process and politics. Also I started out as an engineer, B.S. Chem Eng. Tufts ’62. As an engineer I like to model the various parts of what we are studying. Perhaps it is not surprising my dissertation was A Computer Model of the 1962 Term of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lastly, I will note I have had very direct experience in courtrooms both as a lawyer and a business man. As a lawyer I have been through cases involving divorce, landlords, personal injury and so on, My business once had a case that went on for 20 years, traveling to 4 different courts, some a couple of times, 2 federal, 2 state, with perhaps 7 sets of one or more judges ruling on various aspects of the case. Going to court is not for the faint hearted.
Overview
This course focuses on understanding and explaining judicial behavior. In order to do this, this course examines not only what judges do, but also all aspects of the judicial process such as juries, attorneys, prosecutors, judicial selection, plea bargaining, court structures and the social and political settings in which courts operate. To put another way, along with studying judicial behavior we are studying many aspects of what is called procedural due process and how it is interpreted and applied. This also requires us to consider various aspects of fairness and justice.
Most of the assignments involve reading and analyzing judicial opinions in actual cases. When I first created this course in the Government Department many, many years ago, it was more quantitative. As the years have gone on I think using cases as illustrations makes many of the points better than just numbers. A number of these cases are studied in a different courses and contexts in most law schools. I studied a number of these in my first year classes at Michigan and they are still relevant in many ways today) These opinions not only reveal what the judge is thinking and how judges think and reason, but also explain how the judicial process works.
Some assignments include viewing videos.
To look at this course another way. We are trying to predict judicial decisions, the dependent variable . We want to find the independent variables or predictors. I say predictors because in social life, no one variable explains all. As any seasoned lawyer will tell you, whatever you call the “law” is not necessarily the best predictor. As you will see in an interesting chapter in D’Amato in case packet, even lawyers regularly disagree what the “law” is.
The cases are drawn from a variety both “public’ and “private” law areas. Case topics include international law, negligence and product liability law, criminal law and procedure, the interpretation of federal statutes, and constitutional law. Some cases used in this course come from the most recent terms of the U.S. Supreme Court. Several of the cases we will cover have been the subject of major movies or discussed in movies and popular T.V. series.
This course is designed for students who want a general understanding of the legal and judicial process as well as those who are thinking about attending law school. I also would love to have future teachers in my courses. One of my students who is a 2L tells me his teacher was in my course years ago.
Course Goals (promises)
A. Increase Students Understanding of:
- The operation of the U.S. civil and criminal justice system
- How judges go about making decisions and writing opinions as well as how we think judges should go about
this task, e.g. both normative and empirical approaches to judicial behavior. - Some of the legal and constitutional doctrines that affect or frame the operation
the civil and criminal justice system.
B. Expand Students Ability:
- To understand, comprehend and critique textual materials
- To think logically, analytically and creatively(out side the box)
- To draw useful information from empirical data about judicial behavior
- To create cogent arguments on two or more sides of the issues we cover. (see discussion of tensions and crosscutting purposes below)
- To use words more precisely (e.g. Holocaust, murder, law, )
C. Do A and B above in a challenging and interesting environment
We will find many tensions and cross cutting purposes in the institutional structures on which the judicial process is built. We will analyze the “who”, “how” and “why” of their resolution. Here are some examples:
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- Judges
A. Making the law versus interpreting the law
B. Policy makers versus disinterested weighers, recall the statute of a blind justice holding a set of assayers scales
C. Justice vs. law - Adversary system
A. Fight theory vs. truth theory
B. Lawyers responsibility to client vs responsibility to society - Juries
A. Public participation by “competent” citizens versus alleged “lemmings and
day time T.V. viewers”
B. “Fair” versus “efficient” juries - Prosecutors
A. Protecting the public welfare versus protecting their personal position
B. Justice v. law - Types of punishment and theories of punishment.
- Judges
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We will also be constantly searching for the unspoken or assumed premises of judges, prosecutors, juries, etc., and even ourselves as we study these materials.
Bringing such premises to light will sharpen and enhance your analytical skills and ability to create distinctions. Seeing and creating distinctions is the building block of learning and most efficient way to expand what you see in the world
What is required of students in the course:
A. Keep up with reading and briefing for each class. Take notes on assigned movies and videos
B. Know the cases before coming to class. Ve able to recite facts, issues and holding from memory.
C. A willingness to be an active participant in the class.
D. A willingness to go beyond any self imposed academic limits.
Course Requirements and Grading
Grades will be based on a plus and minus system.
- 3 hours exams approximately 65%(40% objective,60% essay)
- 2 short papers 3-4 pages approximately 20
- Class attendance and participation approximately 15%
Office Hours and Location My Monday Office Hours: Texas Union 1:15-2:15
Wednesday Office Hours: Texas Union 1:15-2:15
Wednesday After Class Office Hours: Cactus Cafe 4:00(after class) until around 5:30 p.m.
If per chance Cactus is closed for a special event, an alternate site will be annouced
I may also have after class office hours on Mondays if there is demand. These may be
at one of pubs across Guadalupe from campus
Available by appointment at other times via zoom. Generally only on campus Mon and Wed
afternoons
Who Should Not Take This Course?
Anyone prone to putting everything off until the exam and not being willing to keep up with daily assignment–that is unrepentant and unchangeable PROCRASTINATORS.
How Can Students Make This Course Easier?
Spend all the time necessary in the first few weeks to do good to excellent briefs and put together a study group.
SUGGESTION As in law school, students have found that study groups with 4 to 8 classmates are extremely helpful in mastering this course. We will organize these in class on the 2nd day of class.
Highlights:
(Current News & Opinion)
This section contains articles that directly or indirectly relate to this course. course. If any will be covered on the exam, it will be so noted in class.
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- Note: Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259, http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/ Please let me know what accommodations are needed as early in the semester as possible
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