The Use of Legal Scholarship by the Federal Courts of Appeals: An Empirical Study

By Professors Lee Petherbridge & David Schwartz

Legal scholarship has been under sharp attack, particularly when it comes to the role some believe it should play in support of the legal profession. In recent remarks, Chief Justice John Roberts explained that he does not pay much attention to it, reportedly stating that legal scholarship is not "particularly helpful for practitioners and judges." Moreover, Chief Justice Roberts is not alone in his criticism. Judge Harry Edwards has characterized legal scholarship coming from "elite" law faculties as "abstract scholarship that has little relevance to concrete issues, or addresses concrete issues in a wholly theoretical manner" and offered his impression that judges, administrators, legislators, and practitioners have little use for much of the scholarship.

[Click here to continue reading about the findings of their study at Cornell Law Review's Legal Workshop.]