How Important Are the Unwritten Customs and Norms of an Appellate Court?

Appellate court judges make decisions collectively and not individually, a process which is presumed to improve the quality of decisions. The judges’ interactions with each other are structured within their courts by sets of formal rules and informal norms of behavior. These rules and norms are not the same in every court, and may be difficult to examine from outside the court. From my examination of the rules and norms of the intermediate appellate court on which I sit, I believe that certain rules and norms can reduce some costs of disagreement and increase the benefits of the collective judicial decision-making process on that court

How Important Are the Unwritten Customs and Norms of an Appellate Court?

Appellate court judges make decisions collectively and not individually, a process which is presumed to improve the quality of decisions. The judges’ interactions with each other are structured within their courts by sets of formal rules and informal norms of behavior. These rules and norms are not the same in every court, and may be difficult to examine from outside the court. From my examination of the rules and norms of the intermediate appellate court on which I sit, I believe that certain rules and norms can reduce some costs of disagreement and increase the benefits of the collective judicial decision-making process on that court