I'd like to offer readers a short quiz on judicial
independence.
Imagine a field where liability is common but damages vary
widely — patent law, perhaps, or disability claims. In this
field, there is a specialized court that has attracted
Congressional and press criticism because it rules for the
plaintiff 99% of the time. Stung by relentless criticism based on
this statistic, the chief judge of the court finally writes a
public letter to Congress, saying, in essence,
"You don't understand how this court works. The court
conducts detailed pretrial settlement negotiations and in at least
25% of its cases, the judge tells the plaintiff that he is likely
to lose unless he reduces his claim to an amount the court
considers more reasonable, and the plaintiff almost always does.
The court on occasion tells the plaintiff that his chances are so
poor that the case should be dropped, and it usually is. In order
to correct the misimpression created by the 99% success
