After Quote by Benjamin N. Cardozo
“I own that it is a good deal of a mystery to me how judges, of all persons in the world, should put their faith in dicta. A brief experience on the bench was enough to reveal to me all sorts of cracks and crevices and loopholes in my own opinions when picked up a few months after delivery and reread with due contrition.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Nature of the Judicial Process, 1921
Judges must recognize that their own reasoning contains hidden flaws revealed only by later reflection.
In simple terms: Judges discover their own biases after experience.
Key Takeaway
Regularly review past decisions with humility.
Themes
judicial humility
self‑scrutiny
bias awareness
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
philosophical
legal
When to use this quote
- court rulings
- law school study
- appeal preparation
Key Concepts
cognitive bias
metacognition
legal reasoning
Questions to Reflect On
- How can judges institutionalize honest self‑review?
- What mechanisms guard against entrenched bias?
A Different Perspective
Self‑assessment can be limited by institutional pressures.
