Moving Beyond Numbers: What Female Judges Say about Different Judicial Voices

Abstract

Although women outnumber men entering law school, women remain underrepresented in the judiciary. In 2007, women comprised approximately 23 percent of federal judges and 21 percent of state judges. This article examines if and how women's different experiences, attitudes, and values affect jurisprudence.

Judging the Other: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Class in Family Court

“…Unlike many other courts, dependency courts are a space controlled primarily by women . Respondents are likely to appear before a female judge and be represented by a female attorney (Miller & Maier, ). Thus, gender is in many ways an unpredictable card.…”

“…Gender is also a constant presence. Women often comprise all the major players in maltreatment proceedings, from the parents, usually mothers, to the caseworkers who investigate them, the attorneys who represent both groups, the judges who preside over the cases (Miller & Maier, ; Reich, ). The mostly female judges and lawyers are also more likely to be White, while mothers and caseworkers are often people of color (Sinden, ).…”

Judges’ Gender and Sentencing in China: An Empirical Inquiry

“…They are closely guided to make judicial decisions in line with the Guidelines, and they experience the same legal training and judicial socialization as their male counterparts (Zatz, 2000). This may be the key problem with the application of Gilligan's theory in gender and judging: questionable evidence, which is overwhelmingly concentrated on the biological and psychological differences of female judges and thus makes proposals based on differences that are taken for granted in many ways (Davis, 1992;Martin, 1993;Miller & Maier, 2008). But the idea of a "different voice" ignores the possibility of the "same voice" developing out of social supervision, institutional role, and professional training, which may compensate for innate differences between male and female judges and help the latter to establish the same adaptive rationality as their male counterparts in the legal system (Fineman & Thomadsen, 2013;Granfield, 1994;Greeno & Maccoby, 1986).…”

“…Second, scholars may consider introducing a qualitative methodology through which to explore the role of judges' perceptions in the reasoning behind their rulings. In-depth interviews with judges could offer a unique approach to uncovering male and female judges' understanding of disputes and legal principles (Miller & Maier, 2008).…”

Do Female Legislators Do It Differently? Sex Offender Lawmaking at the State Level

“…These gender differences in how men and women resolve problems are attributed to their different socialization experiences (Gilligan, 1982). Although the research outcomes are mixed, Gilligan’s moral reasoning theory of “different voices” continues to influence empirical questions on whether women operating in gendered settings affect the institutional processes and content (see Miller & Maier, 2008).…”