Briefs

Federal Judges

Inside Straight: Institutionalizing Mediocrity

Here’s my thesis: We create rules to hedge against ineptitude, and we thus institutionalize mediocrity. Here are the examples. First, someone — the Administrative Office of the Courts? God? — creates rules to hedge against incomprehensible judicial opinions, and we thus discourage judges from writing exceptional opinions. When new federal appellate judges attend what is […]