Several studies have underscored the significance of familiarity and collegiality in shaping judicial behaviors in U.S. federal courts. However, the distinct features of the U.S. judicial system might not always offer the most appropriate framework for examining cognitive biases. This research utilizes an extensive dataset of 84,335 decisions from Taiwanese appellate courts on civil cases to explore the impact of familiarity within a career judge system. Contrary to the U.S., in Taiwan, lower court judges are temporarily promoted to appellate courts for three years, after which they return to their district courts for further tenure. By examining the judicial actions during their initial and subsequent promotions, and contrasting these with the practices of permanent appellate judges, Dr. Chang and his associates identify similar biases among Taiwanese judges as those previously reported in the literature. The large and diverse nature of their dataset, along with the random allocation of court cases in Taiwan, strengthens the claim that judicial biases are widespread and consistent across various legal systems. Moreover, Dr. Chang and his associates specify two distinct sources of familiarity, differentiating them clearly from collegiality, thus enriching the understanding of the intricate factors that influence judicial decision-making.

Speaker:

Yun-chien Chang is the Jack G. Clarke Professor in East Asian Law at Cornell Law School and Director of the Clarke Program in East Asian Law & Culture. Prior to joining Cornell, he was a Research Professor at the Institutum Iurisprudentiae, Academia Sinica in Taiwan. Prof. Chang is the (co-)author or (co-)editor of 20 books and has published over 160 journal articles and book chapters. He is a co-editor of the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies and serves as an Associate Reporter for the Restatement of the Law Fourth, Property. He is President Emeritus of the Asian Law and Economics Association and a director of the Society for Empirical Legal Studies. His current research interests include the economic, empirical, and comparative analysis of private law—particularly property law—as well as empirical studies of judicial systems. Prof. Chang holds J.S.D. from New York University School of Law and earned his LL.B. and LL.M. from National Taiwan University. He is also a member of the Taiwan bar.