Dwarkin: Legal Cases, Questionnaire Example

What Dworkin believes helps to decide legal cases, other than rules, is the ability of a judge to interpret the case.  In this way, judges are able to set precedence for cases in the future, which creates integrity within the framework of the law.The difference between these is mainly their levels of flexibility in dealing with change.  While laws can sometimes be difficult to interpret, it makes it easier create a solid foundation for legality when there is a decision in the past that can be referenced in order to draw continuity within the justice system.  In order to resolve a dispute over a problem it creates a sense of integrity.

The notions of discretion that Dworkin identifies are generally between weak and strong.  Weak discretion is the type that is generally given to those in an administrative role who have a final say in some process that has certain safeguards against total rule of authority.  Those with weak discretion would be bound by the framework of interpretation associated with jurisprudence as discussed above.  Strong discretion, on the other hand, involves the right to make a decision unbound by the priorities that were set in the past. Dworkin believes that the judges should and do possess the weaker type of discretion.  He argues against a judge being able to make decisions on their own without having to reference those that have been made in the past.