Judicial Behavior

Profs. Lee Epstein and D. Klerman
May 2026

Outline & Readings

An Introduction to the Study of Judicial Behavior
(Wednesday, May 6, 9:30-11:30)

Optional Readings:
• Lee, Epstein, Urška Šadl, & Keren Weinshall. 2021. “The Role of Comparative Law in the Analysis of Judicial Behavior,” 69 American Journal of Comparative Law, pp. 694-714.
• Lee Epstein, William M. Landes & Richard A. Posner. 2013. The Behavior of Federal Judges: A Theoretical and Empirical Study of Rational Choice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 25-50.
•Lee Epstein & Keren Weinshall. 2021. The Strategic Analysis of Judicial Behavior: A Comparative Perspective. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

An Introduction to Empirical Legal Research
(Wednesday, May 6, 12:15-13:15)

Optional Reading:
• Lee Epstein & Andrew D. Martin, An Introduction to Empirical Legal Research, pp. 1-15. Available here (pdf).

Paper Presenter: Keren Weinshall, Hebrew University
(Thursday, May 7: 9:30-12:15)
Prof. Weinshall’s paper will be posted here

Paper Presenter: Tamar Kricheli-Katz, Tel Aviv University
(Sunday, May 10, 9:30-13:15)
Prof. Kricheli-Katz’s paper is here.

Paper Presenter: Eyal Zamir, Hebrew University
(Monday, May 11, 9:30-12:15)
Prof. Zamir will integrate three papers into one presentation. The papers are here, here, and here.