New York Times: Debate on Whether Female Judges Decide Differently Arises Anew

Article here. Excerpt:

'Judge Judith S. Kaye, who was the chief judge of New York State for 16 years until her recent retirement, said she had long avoided engaging others on the question. “I struggled with it for the 25 years I served as a judge,” Judge Kaye said.

But she said she had ultimately come to terms with defending the idea that women judges will, at times, see things differently. “To defend the idea that women come out different on some cases, I just feel it,” Judge Kaye said.

“I feel it to the depths of my soul,” she added, because a woman’s experiences are “just different.”
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The most prominent and recent academic study comparing male and female judges found that female judges were more likely than males to decide in favor of plaintiffs who alleged sex discrimination at the workplace. But the study, an unpublished paper by Christina L. Boyd, Lee Epstein and Andrew D. Martin, found no difference in cases involving disability law, environmental issues and capital punishment.'

In addition, the study said female judges might exert their influence in cases that were decided by multijudge federal appeals panels.'