Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 349-390 |
| Number of pages | 52 |
| Journal | The journal of legal studies |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2018 |
Abstract
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In: The journal of legal studies, Vol. 47, No. 2, 06.2018, p. 349-390.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Estimating the Effect of Leisure on Judicial Performance
AU - Clark, Tom S.
AU - Engst, Benjamin Gerhard
AU - Statton, Jeffrey K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2018 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/6
Y1 - 2018/6
N2 - Past research suggests that natural preferences for leisure influence the ways in which federal judges carry out their work. We consider the extent to which incentives for leisure reduce the speed with which judges work and the quality of their output. We take advantage of a natural experiment caused by an annual sporting event that creates differential distractions across judges. Using a difference-in-differences design, among federal courts of appeals judges we show that a judge’s alma mater’s participation in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament both slows the rate at which opinions are drafted and ultimately undermines the opinions’ quality, even accounting for the additional time judges spend writing them. The findings suggest that incentives for leisure influence important normative concerns for swift and high-quality justice.
AB - Past research suggests that natural preferences for leisure influence the ways in which federal judges carry out their work. We consider the extent to which incentives for leisure reduce the speed with which judges work and the quality of their output. We take advantage of a natural experiment caused by an annual sporting event that creates differential distractions across judges. Using a difference-in-differences design, among federal courts of appeals judges we show that a judge’s alma mater’s participation in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Tournament both slows the rate at which opinions are drafted and ultimately undermines the opinions’ quality, even accounting for the additional time judges spend writing them. The findings suggest that incentives for leisure influence important normative concerns for swift and high-quality justice.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85063007077&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1086/699150
DO - 10.1086/699150
M3 - Article
VL - 47
SP - 349
EP - 390
JO - The journal of legal studies
JF - The journal of legal studies
SN - 0047-2530
IS - 2
ER -