The Nature of the Judicial Process

Name: The Nature of the Judicial Process
Brand: Blackstone Audiobooks
Availability: InStock
Author: Benjamin N. Cardozo
ISBN: 9798228739765

Author: Benjamin N. Cardozo

Narrator: Peter Lerman

Unabridged: 3 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Peter Lerman

Published: 11/25/2025

Categories: Nonfiction, Philosophy

Synopsis

The Nature of the Judicial Process by Benjamin N. Cardozo is one of the most influential works on American jurisprudence. Written while Cardozo was a judge on the New York Court of Appeals (before joining the US Supreme Court), it explores how judges actually decide cases and the philosophy behind judicial decision-making.Cardozo asks, “What is it that I do when I decide a case?” He aims to uncover the principles—both conscious and unconscious—that guide judicial reasoning. Cardozo identifies four main sources that influence judicial decisions: Precedent, History and Custom, the sense of Justice or Moral Philosophy, Social Welfare or Utility. He emphasizes that these sources interact and often conflict, requiring judges to balance them rather than follow any single one absolutely.The Nature of the Judicial Process is widely respected for its clarity, its honesty about how law and judging really work (including tensions, uncertainty, moral influence), and its influence on subsequent legal theory.

About Benjamin N. Cardozo

Benjamin Nathan Cardozo (1870–1938) was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the New York Court of Appeals from 1914 to 1932 and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1932 until his death in 1938. Cardozo is remembered for his significant influence on the development of American common law in the twentieth century, as well as for his philosophy and vivid prose style. Born in New York City, Cardozo passed the bar in 1891 after attending Columbia Law School.

About Peter Lerman

Peter Lerman is a narrator from the heart of New York City: Brooklyn born and raised. Manhattan and Brooklyn were suffused with the flavors and sounds of the entire world. He tasted it all and heard it all. When you come of age in NYC, nothing is foreign. When you hear a low grumble in his voice on occasion, it is authentic. His first wife told him that he loved her not nearly as much as he loved the sound of his own voice. This made him wonder if other people might love the sound of his voice as well. And so, a narrator was born. Also, an amateur thespian, a trade show presenter, a lecturer, an off-key cabaret singer, and an inveterate teller of jokes one does not tell in mixed company. Peter has been a professional photographer in New York City, owned a model and talent management company, and knocked around from Brooklyn to Manhattan and back again only to wind up in Connecticut. His breath control is fabulous because he is also a board certified respiratory therapist. He has appeared onstage as Horace Vandergelder in Hello Dolly, Gangster #2 in Kiss Me Kate, Bobby Gould in Speed-the-Plow, the Governor of Texas in Best Little Whorehouse . . ., Jonathan Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace, and Lenny in Rumors. The voice is deep and resonant. Sometimes formal, sometimes not. Never stale. Always eminently listenable.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Leo on May 20, 2016

In addition to the insights and wisdom featuring the book, the writing of the famous Justice is quite impressive. He seems always able to strike the point with least number of words and most accurate terms, avoiding ambiguity, redundancy, and confusion. A book written after the gilded age, it inheri......more

Goodreads review by Rick on December 19, 2025

These are a series of lectures that have been transcribed, so they’re easy enough to understand. Touching on everything from the role of sociology in legal decisions to how much difference should we have for stare decisis and precedent. Probably not broadly recommended. Niche book from an influential......more

Goodreads review by Jason on September 22, 2019

This lecture was initially given in 1921 and reprinted by the Yale University Press. Judge Cardozo was then on the New York Court of Appeals and had been a judge since 1913. The U.S. Supreme Court was just coming out of the Lochner era, when the Fourteenth Amendment was interpreted to give businesse......more

Goodreads review by Abbe on February 06, 2025

It's a great book, but it’s difficult to understand Justice Cardozo’s writings. He was notoriously known for using prestigious language to express his opinions. Before reading his book, you must familiarize yourself with legalese; otherwise, you will be lost entirely. I would not recommend this book......more

Goodreads review by Sathyanarayanan on June 08, 2017

Wonderful lectures by the Justice Cordoza.......more