Law Commons^™

May 2, 2020: What Does Over-Caution Signify?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ What Does Over-Caution Signify?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Law Is What The Judge Had For Breakfast: A Brief History Of An Unpalatable Idea, Dan Priel

Articles & Book Chapters

According to a familiar adage the legal realists equated law with what the judge had for breakfast. As this is sometimes used to ridicule the realists, prominent defenders of legal realism have countered that none of the realists ever entertained any such idea. In this Essay I show that this is inaccurate. References to this idea are found in the work of Karl Llewellyn and Jerome Frank, as well as in the works of their contemporaries, both friends and foes. However, the Essay also shows that the idea is improperly attributed to the legal realists, as there are many references …

Competition Wrongs, Nicolas Cornell

Articles

In both philosophical and legal circles, it is typically assumed that wrongs depend upon having one’s rights violated. But within any market-based economy, market participants may be wronged by the conduct of other actors in the marketplace. Due to my illicit business tactics, you may lose profits, customers, employees, reputation, access to capital, or any number of other sources of value. This Article argues that such competition wrongs are an example of wrongs that arise without an underlying right, contrary to the typical philosophical and legal assumption. The Article thus draws upon various forms of business law to illustrate what …

April 25, 2020: The Disenchantment Of The Virus, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Disenchantment of the Virus“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

April 23, 2020: My Take On Government Abuse During The Pandemic, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ My take on government abuse during the pandemic“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

April 19, 2020: Our Hyper Partisanship Is Showing, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Our Hyper Partisanship is Showing“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

April 12, 2020: On Watching Ben-Hur, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “On Watching Ben-Hur“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

April 8, 2020: What Is The Meaning Of The Virus, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “What is the Meaning of the Virus“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

March 29, 2020: Thinking Of The Virus And The Earth In A Different Way, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Thinking of the Virus and the Earth in a Different Way“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

March 28, 2020: Foreboding About The Stimulus Bill, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ Foreboding About the Stimulus Bill“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

March 21, 2020: The Age Of Evasion, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Age of Evasion“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

March 17, 2020: Still No Community Transmission, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ Still No Community Transmission“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

March 11, 2020: Krugman's One-Sided Book: Arguing With Zombies., Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Krugman's One-Sided Book: Arguing With Zombies.“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

The 'Authority' Of Law: Joseph Raz Reconsidered, Andrew Stumpff Morrison

Law & Economics Working Papers

The article presents a critical reassessment of the legal philosophical writings of Joseph Raz. The critique develops from the author’s previous argument that law is – contra recent near-consensus – best understood as “the command of the sovereign, backed by force.” Given that this is the distinctly defining feature of law, Raz’s extended preoccupation with “reasons for obeying law” is misplaced and even nonsensical.

March 4, 2020: Proud To Be A Democrat, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Proud to be a Democrat“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

February 27, 2020: A Few Thoughts On Ezra Klein’S New Book. This Is The Real Reason We’Re Polarized, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “ A few thoughts on Ezra Klein’s new book. This is the real reason we’re polarized“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

February 26, 2020: The Crisis Over Recusal, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Crisis Over Recusal“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

February 22, 2020: David Brooks Channels Ishmael, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “David Brooks Channels Ishmael“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

February 15, 2020: The Age Of The Decadent Thinker, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Age of the Decadent Thinker“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

February 9, 2020: The Sprit Of The Age, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Sprit of the Age“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

February 1, 2020: David Brooks And The 4 Narratives, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “David Brooks and the 4 Narratives“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

February 1, 2020: David Brooks And The 4 Narratives, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “David Brooks and the 4 Narratives“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

January 18, 2020: Tamsin Shaw And “The Need For Us To Converge On Some Shared Values To Have A Functioning Form Of Government.”, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, Tamsin Shaw and “the need for us to converge on some shared values to have a functioning form of government.” discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

January 4, 2020: David, It Was Already Done--It's Called Hallowed Secularism, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “David, It Was Already Done--It's Called Hallowed Secularism“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Saving Judicial Independence From The Nihilism Of Court-Packing, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals.

Knowing How To Know: Secondary Liability For Speech In Copyright Law, Laura A. Heymann

Faculty Publications

Contributory copyright infringement has long been based on whether the defendant, "with knowledge of the infringing activity," induced, caused, or materially contributed to another's infringing conduct. But few court opinions or scholarly articles have given due consideration to what it means to "know" of someone else's infringing conduct, particularly when the unlawfulness at issue cannot truly exist until a legal judgment occurs. How can one "know," in other words, that a court or jury will deem a particular use infringement rather than de minimis or fair use? At best, contributory defendants engage in a predictive exercise--in some cases, a more …

Beyond Settlement: Reconceptualizing Adr As “Conflict Process Strategy”, Deborah Thompson Eisenberg

Faculty Scholarship

“Alternative dispute resolution” or “ADR” has reached a paradoxical moment: it is both ubiquitous in practice and at risk of extinction as a distinct concept and field. As the ADR field nears middle age—nearly fifty years after the Pound Conference of 1976—“ADR” has become so popular in name, fractured in practice, and jumbled in theory that it risks a metaphorical genericide, a concept in trademark law when a product name is used to refer to so many things (incorrectly) that it becomes “generic” and confusing. Analogously, the name “ADR” has been applied to so many different processes and concepts that …

The Modern Architecture Of Religious Freedom As A Fundamental Right, Peter G. Danchin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Practical Truth: The Value Of Apparent Honesty In Supreme Court Opinions, Timothy C. Macdonnell

Scholarly Articles

Judicial honesty or judicial candor is the subject of significant scholarly attention, but it is not the focus of this Essay. Rather, the author's focus is on the importance that appearing honest has on the persuasive force of an opinion and the dangers associated with failing to achieve that goal. This distinction is not intended to suggest Justices should seek apparent honesty while not being actually honest. Rather, this Essay emphasizes that actually honest opinions must also be apparently honest. Thus, judicial candor is necessary to apparent honesty, but it is not always sufficient on its own.

To support the …

Gamesmanship And Criminal Process, John D. King

Scholarly Articles

We first learn formal structures of rules, procedures, and norms of conduct through games and sports. These lessons illuminate and inform human behavior in other contexts, including the adversarial world of criminal litigation. As critiques of the legitimacy and fairness of the criminal justice system increase, the philosophy and jurisprudence of sport offer a comparative legal system to examine criminal litigation. Allegations of gamesmanship—the aggressive and strategic use of rules that violate some sense of decorum or culture yet remain within the formal rules of engagement—cut across both contexts. This Article examines what sports can teach us about gamesmanship in …