- Brinks Basic Concept: Judges can be independent without having autonomy.
- Dahl Basic Concept: Justices rule based on majoritarian rule.
- Decision-Making Independence: Discussed in Brinks, talks about judges having the ability to make decisions without the involvement of outside forces.
- Dworkin Basic Concept: Justices must think of how their decisions fit with a history of decisions, then they have to make substantive judgements about fairness, justice and due process.
- Epstein, Knight and S Basic Concept: Judges are strategic. They create cooperative working groups to get their ultimate goals passed.
- Ex Ante Majoritarian Rule: Dahl
- Legal Model: Dworkin
- O'Brien Basic Concept: Justices in Japan have low preferencial independence and high decisional independence. Chief Justice, Secretariate, and LDP make most of the decisions.
- Preferential Independence: Theory discussed in Brinks, talks about the importance of justices having the ability to display preferences at the time of appointment or nomination.
- Preferential Model: Segal and Spaeth
- Segel and Spaeth Basic Concept Ch. 10: Justices rule based on their attitudes.
- Segel and Spaeth Basic Concept Ch. 7: Judges ignore precedent they dislike and follow precedent they like.
- Strategic Model: Epstein and Knight