Hidden influences: Extra-legal factors in judicial decision making

Cahill-O'Callaghan, Rachel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7791-4578 2023. Hidden influences: Extra-legal factors in judicial decision making. Commonwealth Judicial Journal 26 (4) , pp. 25-30. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

It has long been accepted that in hard cases extra-legal factors may play an important role in judicial decision making. Our values are a central component of our identity and play a significant role in the decision-making processes. They serve as the lens through which we see a choice and underpin the first instinctive response to the decision. In decisions, where there are two equally valid legal answers, the decision may remain anchored in the instinctive value response. Values in this context, provide certainty and consistency in uncertain decisions. But if unchallenged, these normal instincts can narrow the frame of decision making and may shift the pattern of decision making towards unacceptable bias. Challenge and reflection may limit the risk of hidden value bias and ensure that values remain a normal facet of decision making.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Law Cardiff Law & Politics
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General) K Law > KD England and Wales
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	24 November 2023
Date of Acceptance:	1 October 2023
Last Modified:	30 Apr 2024 18:48
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/164196

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