The Supreme Court and Legal Change: Abortion and the Death Penalty. (book reviews)

The question this book addresses--What explains changes in legal doctrine?--has attracted legal scholars in every generation. According to Epstein and Kobylka, the traditional answer--the logic of the law--has been largely replaced by behavioral social science answers that highlight the political nature of judicial decision making and, accordingly, focus on changes in judicial personnel and judicial attitudes.

Other recent work highlights the role of the broader political environment as the main causal agent of doctrinal change. However, Epstein and Kobylka reject these modern ...

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