Judicial Discretion and the Problem of Dirty Hands
H.L.A. Harts lost and found essay Discretion has provided new insight into the issue of how legal systems can cope with indeterminacy in the law. The so-called open texture of law calls for the exercise of judicial discretion, which, I argue, renders judges susceptible to the problem of dirty h...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2016]
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| In: |
Ethical theory and moral practice
Year: 2016, Volume: 19, Issue: 1, Pages: 177-192 |
| IxTheo Classification: | NCA Ethics VA Philosophy XA Law |
| Further subjects: | B
H.L.A. Hart
B Moral emotions B Dirty Hands B Michael Walzer B Discretion |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | H.L.A. Harts lost and found essay Discretion has provided new insight into the issue of how legal systems can cope with indeterminacy in the law. The so-called open texture of law calls for the exercise of judicial discretion, which, I argue, renders judges susceptible to the problem of dirty hands. To show this, I frame the problem as being open to an array of appropriate emotional responses, namely, various senses of guilt. With these responses in mind, I revise an example from Michael Walzers original analysis in a way that highlights purely personal sacrifices in solutions to dirty hands situations. I then turn to an account of moral emotions in legal decision-making and show how judgesin failing to advance all interestsmight be left with a unique sense of guilt. With an application of this account to Harts legal positivism, it can be seen that a judges hands are often dirtied in resolving borderline cases. If discretion leaves judges in situations where they must do wrong in order to do right, Harts endorsement of a closure view of wrongdoing will lead to difficulties in how he can explain the presence of moral remainders in jurisprudence. |
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| ISSN: | 1572-8447 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Ethical theory and moral practice
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1007/s10677-015-9608-2 |