The Bureaucratization of the Judiciary

Abstract

The history of the twentieth century is'largely the history of increasing bureaucratization. Almost every phase of American life has come to be dominated by large-scale, complex organizations-the corporation, the labor union, the university, the public hospital, and even our national political agencies. The national executive does not simply consist of the President and a small group of trusted advisers, but is instead composed of a vast, sprawling conglomerate of administrative agencies, which are staffed by more than three million (civilian) employees. We have come to accept this and often refer to the executive branch as "The Bureaucracy," but a similar development has occurred within the legislature. In addition to some 500 senators and representatives, Congress now consists of about 40,000 employees, more than 300 committees and subcommittees, and 8 internal agencies (like the General Accounting Office and the Congressional Budget Office.) Against this background, an account of the judiciary, such as Cardozo's that focuses exclusively on the agony of a lonely, isolated judge seems somewhat dated. Today the judiciary must be seen as a large-scale, complex organization.