The role and qualifications of the judge on American legal realism

On this thesis, the role and qualifications of the judge on American Legal Realism, which is one of the most influential movements of the 20th century, have been studied. First of all, we tried to determine which dynamics have an impact for occurring this movement. Pragmatism, critiques for formalism, the ideas that have similar arguments with realism and contra movements which have alike tension between formalism and realism have been examined. Political and cultural climate that causes the occurring the movement also have been explained. Realism has put the courts and the judges in the center of its legal theory. Therefore, issue of the role of the judge, can't be explained independent of basic thesis of the movement. Realism legal theory has lots of hints about the role of the judge. Especially statements about rule scepticism and fact scepticism in the scope of legal uncertainty, using law as a tool, and creating new law reveal that presumed judge figure. To determine the qualifications of the judge we need to explain that how kind of legal education should be taken. In our study the education system that realists criticize and the one they proposed have been explained. After that, the qualifications a judge should have have been explained from the perspective of the American Legal Realism. Hereunder, legal realism describe a judge who is interested to social sciences, moral and innovative. In the last part of the thesis, the role and qualifications of the judge have been examined in the light of the judicial decisions. How the roles and qualifications we have determined have concretized in judicial decisions and consequences of this concretizing have been analyzed.