Tournament of Appeals

Roy B. Flemming is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Texas A & M University.

From the safe refuge as a professor at Texas A & M University, the author defines the Supreme Court of Canada as a political institution subject to the usual incentives and constraints as those experienced by members of more recognizable political institutions. In assessing how the Supreme Court decides what cases to hear the author postulates how it is done and while so doing is helpful to lawyers seeking leave to appeal. The author has prepared tables of variables that lawyers may look at to find a fit. This book is a must for trial lawyers. - Ronald F. MacIsaac (The Saskatchewan Advocate) The study described in Tournament of Appeals is interesting and timely. Which appeals the Supreme Court chooses to hear will affect the development of law and policy in Canada. How they choose these appeals should therefore be of great interest to the public at large, and the legal profession in particular. If the Court itself will not tell us how it is done, this study narrows the possibilities, and expands our understanding, not only of the Supreme Court of Canada, but also of the United States Supreme Court and the highest courts of other countries. - Reche J. McKeague (Saskatchewan Law Review 2005, Vol 68) I cannot count the times I have heard lawyers put forward their various theories on their own successes and failures, so they may well find this little text very illuminating. - Ronald F. MacIsaac (The Barrister)

• Figures and TablesPreface and Acknowledgments1 Judicial Review and Agenda Setting: American Accounts and the Canadian Setting2 Tournaments and Stratification of Canada's Supreme Court Bar3 Litigants, Lawyers, and the Tournament of Appeals4 Tournament Rules and the Consequences of Institutional Choices5 The Court Game: Strategy and Consensus among the Tournament's Judges6 Conclusion: Canadian Variations of American ThemesNotesReferencesIndex