Martin P. Golding received his undergraduate education at the University of California at Los Angeles and took his doctorate at Columbia University, where he taught until 1970. He then went to John Jay College of Criminal Justice for six years, after which he joined the philosophy department at Duke University. He served as chairman of the department from 1976 until 1986. Professor Golding directs the joint law-philosophy program, and currently is professor of philosophy and professor of law at Duke. He has held a number of visiting positions, including one in the faculty of law at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. In 1985, he was a senior Fulbright lecturer in Australia. He has held fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Humanities Center. From 1969 to 1989 he was the secretary-treasurer of the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy. Professor Golding is the author of 'Philosophy of Law', which has been translated int! o Japanese and Chinese and he is editor of 'Jewish Law and Legal Theory'. He has also published articles and chapters of books, including a number of papers on the concept of rights and papers on the rule of law. His book 'Free Speech on Campus' was recently published. Professor Golding's teaching interests include courses in philosophy of law, responsibility in law and morals, ethics, and Jewish law.

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In a book that is a blend of text and readings, Martin P. Golding explores legal reasoning from a variety of angles-including that of judicial psychology. The primary focus, however, is on the 'logic' of judicial decision making. How do judges justify their decisions? What sorts of arguments do they use? In what ways do they rely on legal precedent? Golding includes a wide variety of cases, as well as a brief bibliographic essay (updated for this Broadview edition).