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Detailing Judicial Difference

Rackley, Erika

Authors

Erika Rackley



Abstract

In January 2004 Baroness Brenda Hale became the first woman to sit on the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. Five years on, she has brought to her judicial role a lightness of touch that belies her increasingly significant impact on the court’s jurisprudence. Early forecasts that she would be “just a bit different” from her male companions have proved prophetic. However such assessments have stemmed primarily from a focus on her decision-making on a case-by-case basis. But what of her jurisprudence as a whole? This paper considers arguments for a more sustained and coherent methodological approach to analyses of Baroness Hale’s (and other judges’) jurisprudence as a framework through which to better understand and explore the potential of judicial difference and to better inform current debates about increasing judicial diversity in England and Wales.

Citation

Rackley, E. (2009). Detailing Judicial Difference. Feminist Legal Studies, 17(1), 11-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-009-9107-8

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Apr 1, 2009
Deposit Date Jul 14, 2011
Journal Feminist Legal Studies
Print ISSN 0966-3622
Electronic ISSN 1572-8455
Publisher Springer
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 17
Issue 1
Pages 11-26
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-009-9107-8
Keywords Baroness Hale, Difference, Diversity, Judging.