The World of Benjamin Cardozo – Personal Values & the Judicial Process - Hardcover

Polenberg, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674960513 ISBN 13: 9780674960510

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1997

Synopsis

Benjamin Cardozo was one of America's most influential judges, first on the New York State's Court of Appeals and then on the United States Supreme Court. How he arrived at his rulings, with their far-reaching consequences and the connections between his life and his jurisprudence are the focus of this book. Using letters, briefs, transcripts and biographical details to give a picture of Cardozo, the book describes the shaping experiences of his youth, his religious training, the death of his mother and his reaction to the scandal that prompted his father to resign from the New York Supreme Court. Using cases brought before the Court of Appeals, the author aims to show how Cardozo's rulings reflect a system of beliefs rooted in his early experiences. It argues that despite his famous detachment, Cardozo read evidence and precedents selectively and based his decisions regarding issues from rape and divorce to the insanity plea on his own views about morality, scholarship and sexuality. His renowned liberalism is also explored.

About this title

Review

In "The World of Benjamin Cardozo, an entertaining contribution to the literature of Cardozo revisionism, Richard Polenberg combines biographical exploration with a reconstruction of the facts of some of Cardozo's most salacious cases...By creatively combining biographical and judicial excavation, Polenberg shows us that Cardozo was a hopeless moralist as well, one who was reluctant to second-guess the morals of his age. In "The World of Benjamin Cardozo," an entertaining contribution to the literature of Cardozo revisionism, Richard Polenberg combines biographical exploration with a reconstruction of the facts of some of Cardozo's most salacious cases...By creatively combining biographical and judicial excavation, Polenberg shows us that Cardozo was a hopeless moralist as well, one who was reluctant to second-guess the morals of his age. -- Edward Hower "New York Times Book Review" In "The World of Benjamin Cardozo", an entertaining contribution to the literature of Cardozo revisionism, Richard Polenberg combines biographical exploration with a reconstruction of the facts of some of Cardozo's most salacious cases...By creatively combining biographical and judicial excavation, Polenberg shows us that Cardozo was a hopeless moralist as well, one who was reluctant to second-guess the morals of his age.--Edward Hower "New York Times Book Review "

About the Author

Richard Polenberg is Goldwin Smith Professor of American History at Cornell University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674960513
• ISBN 13: 9780674960510
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 300