Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Law
A Path Not Taken: Hans Kelsen's Pure Theory Of Law In The Land Of Legal Realists, D. A. Jeremy Telman
A Path Not Taken: Hans Kelsen's Pure Theory Of Law In The Land Of Legal Realists, D. A. Jeremy Telman
Law Faculty Publications
This Essay is a contribution to a volume on the influence of Hans Kelsen’s legal theory in over a dozen countries. The Essay offers four explanations for the failure of Kelsen’s pure theory of law to take hold in the United States. Part I covers the argument that Kelsen’s approach failed in the United States because it is inferior to H. L. A. Hart’s brand of legal positivism. Part II discusses the historical context in which Kelsen taught and published in the United States and explores both philosophical and sociological reasons why the legal academy in the United States rejected …