The Nature of Judicial Process

Summary

The Nature of the Judicial Process by Benjamin N. Cardozo is one of the most influential works on American jurisprudence. Written while Cardozo was a judge on the New York Court of Appeals (before joining the US Supreme Court), it explores how judges actually decide cases and the philosophy behind judicial decision-making.

Cardozo asks, “What is it that I do when I decide a case?” He aims to uncover the principles—both conscious and unconscious—that guide judicial reasoning. Cardozo identifies four main sources that influence judicial decisions: Precedent, History and Custom, the sense of Justice or Moral Philosophy, Social Welfare or Utility. He emphasizes that these sources interact and often conflict, requiring judges to balance them rather than follow any single one absolutely.

The Nature of the Judicial Process is widely respected for its clarity, its honesty about how law and judging really work (including tensions, uncertainty, moral influence), and its influence on subsequent legal theory.