In this series of lectures, Justice Cardozo describes how he saw the judicial process in action, not just how he thought it should operate. His main points are these: (1) judges try to make their decisions consistent not only with statutes and case law precedent but with other factors like custom and the prevailing sense of justice, and (2) judging is an inherently practical task, not a theoretical one.

I found the book repetitive at times, and it was clear that these were intended as lectures rather than as articles. This is an interesting book for lawyers and other students of law and politics, but the lecture-based writing style, the references to other theories on the role of the judiciary, and the untranslated foreign-language quotes restrict the approachability of this book for general readers. ( )