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Applying Jewish Legal Theory In The Context Of American Law And Legal Scholarship: A Methodological Analysis, Samuel J. Levine
Applying Jewish Legal Theory In The Context Of American Law And Legal Scholarship: A Methodological Analysis, Samuel J. Levine
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No abstract provided.
Of Inkblots And Omnisignificance: Conceptualizing Secondary And Symbolic Functions Of The Ninth Amendment, In A Comparative Hermeneutic Framework, Samuel J. Levine
Of Inkblots And Omnisignificance: Conceptualizing Secondary And Symbolic Functions Of The Ninth Amendment, In A Comparative Hermeneutic Framework, Samuel J. Levine
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In this Essay, Levine focuses on a particular hermeneutic approach common to the interpretation of the Torah and the United States Constitution: a presumption against superfluity. This presumption accords to the text a considerable degree of omnisignificance, requiring that interpreters pay careful attention to every textual phrase and nuance in an effort to find its legal meaning and implications. In light of this presumption, it might be expected that normative interpretation of both the Torah and the Constitution would preclude a methodology that allows sections of the text to remain bereft of concrete legal application. In fact, however, both the …
Louis Marshall, Julius Henry Cohen, Benjamin Cardozo, And The New York Emergency Rent Laws Of 1920: A Case Study In The Role Of Jewish Lawyers And Jewish Law In Early Twentieth Century Public Interest Litigation, Samuel J. Levine
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In this Article, Levine examines the litigation surrounding the New York Emergency Rent Laws of 1920. In particular, he focuses upon a series of cases litigated by two of the most prominent Jewish lawyers in United States in the first half of the twentieth century: Louis Marshall and Julius Henry Cohen. Among other notable aspects of the litigation, the cases reached the New York Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, which at that time included two of the most eminent jurists in the history of the United States, Judge Benjamin N. Cardozo and Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, …
Reflections On Responsibilities In The Public Square, Through A Perspective Of Jewish Tradition: A Brief Biblical Survey, Samuel J. Levine
Reflections On Responsibilities In The Public Square, Through A Perspective Of Jewish Tradition: A Brief Biblical Survey, Samuel J. Levine
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In recent years, there has developed in the United States a substantial and growing interest in the role of religion in the public square. Within religious communities, the conversation has, at times, focused on the approach of specific religious traditions toward their own responsibilities to contribute to and influence the moral, ethical, and legal standards of American society. For Jewish communities living in the United States, these questions comprise yet another application of issues the Jewish people has confronted throughout its history. To the extent that the nature of American political and social structures differ significantly from those experienced by …
Looking Beyond The Mercy/Justice Dichotomy: Reflections On The Complementary Roles Of Mercy And Justice In Jewish Law And Tradition, Samuel J. Levine
Looking Beyond The Mercy/Justice Dichotomy: Reflections On The Complementary Roles Of Mercy And Justice In Jewish Law And Tradition, Samuel J. Levine
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In one of his earliest encyclicals, Dives in Misericordia, Pope John Paul II explored the concepts of mercy and kindness, with a focus on notions of divine love and compassion. Building upon these observations, and drawing extensively on the work of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and other scholars of Jewish law and philosophy, Levine considers the complementary roles of justice and mercy in Jewish tradition. Toward that end, Levine places these concepts in a broader perspective, viewing mercy as representative of attributes such as kindness, compassion, love, and peacefulness, while understanding justice in terms of more exacting principles, such as strict …
Richard Posner Meets Reb Chaim Of Brisk: A Comparative Study In The Founding Of Intellectual Legal Movements, Samuel J. Levine
Richard Posner Meets Reb Chaim Of Brisk: A Comparative Study In The Founding Of Intellectual Legal Movements, Samuel J. Levine
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Of the various movements that have surfaced in American legal theory in recent decades, law and economics has emerged as perhaps the most influential, leading some to characterize it as the dominant contemporary mode of analysis among American legal scholars. In this essay, Levine considers law and economics in the context of a comparative discussion of another prominent intellectual legal movement, the Brisker method of Talmudic analysis, which originated in Eastern Europe in the late nineteenth century and quickly developed into a leading method of theoretical study of Jewish law. The Brisker method takes its name from the city of …
An Introduction To Self-Incrimination In Jewish Law, With Application To The American Legal System: A Psychological And Philosophical Analysis, Samuel J. Levine
An Introduction To Self-Incrimination In Jewish Law, With Application To The American Legal System: A Psychological And Philosophical Analysis, Samuel J. Levine
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In recent years, American courts and legal scholars have increasingly turned to Jewish legal tradition for insights into various issues confronting the American legal system. Jewish law has provided an alternative model and, at times, a contrast case that some have found particularly helpful in illuminating complex, controversial, and unsettled areas of American law. In light of these developments, this Essay aims to consider the efficacy of drawing on Jewish law to facilitate a more thoughtful analysis of issues in American law, with a specific focus on the issue of self-incrimination. The Essay begins with a brief discussion of the …
A Look At American Legal Practice Through A Perspective Of Jewish Law, Ethics, And Tradition: A Conceptual Overview, Samuel J. Levine
A Look At American Legal Practice Through A Perspective Of Jewish Law, Ethics, And Tradition: A Conceptual Overview, Samuel J. Levine
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Levine examines the roles of legislative and judicial bodies, in the context of a discussion of broader principles of legislation in the Jewish legal system. In recent years, American legal scholars have increasingly looked to Jewish law as a model of an alternative legal system that considers many of the issues present in the American legal system. In relation to the roles of legislative and judicial bodies, the Jewish legal system provides a particularly illuminating contrast to the American legal system, in part because in Jewish law, the same authority, the Sanhedrin, or High Court, serves in both a legislative …
Rediscovering Julius Henry Cohen And The Origins Of The Business/Profession Dichotomy: A Study In The Discourse Of Early Twentieth Century Legal Professionalism, Samuel J. Levine
Rediscovering Julius Henry Cohen And The Origins Of The Business/Profession Dichotomy: A Study In The Discourse Of Early Twentieth Century Legal Professionalism, Samuel J. Levine
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This article addresses one of the central contemporary debates over the nature of the practice of law, reflected in the business/profession dichotomy. Specifically, the article presents an exploration of the discourse and underlying attitudes of early twentieth century legal professionalism, in the context of a close analysis of Cohen's 1916 classic, The Law: Business or Profession?, a highly influential work that is a standard citation in the contemporary debate. The article contrasts Cohen's rhetoric and underlying approach to professionalism against the anti-Semitism, nativism, classism, economic protectionism, and general elitism often expressed by leaders of the early twentieth century bar who, …
Portraits Of Criminals On Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska: The Enigmatic Criminal, The Sympathetic Criminal, And The Criminal As Brother, Samuel J. Levine
Portraits Of Criminals On Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska: The Enigmatic Criminal, The Sympathetic Criminal, And The Criminal As Brother, Samuel J. Levine
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Deconstructing Bruce Springsteen's album, "Nebraska," Levine demonstrates how Springsteen's songs challenge modern paradigms of crime, punishment and the American criminal justice system. Professor Levine deconstructs the message of the album by introducing the reader to the three categories of criminals who appear on the album: The enigmatic criminal; the sympathetic criminal; and the "criminal as brother." Professor Levine first examines the enigmatic criminal who materializes in Springsteen's title track, "Nebraska." This criminal shows no remorse for his crime and makes no attempt to justify or explain his actions. The enigmatic criminal demonstrates how an exploration of the criminal mindset may …
Playing God: An Essay On Law, Philosophy, And American Capital Punishment, Samuel J. Levine
Playing God: An Essay On Law, Philosophy, And American Capital Punishment, Samuel J. Levine
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This article looks at the capital sentencer's decision: Whether a death-eligible defendant will in fact receive the death sentence. Based in part on an examination of Jewish law and philosophy, Professor Levine identifies three particular areas in which it can be said that the Supreme Court requires the capital sentencer to "play God." First, capital sentencers are asked to ascertain the degree of a defendant's culpability by looking at factors that affect free will and victim impact evidence, implicating moral luck. Capital sentencers are also required to determine a person's total moral worth by considering character evidence. Finally, the Supreme …
Teshuva: A Look At Repentance, Forgiveness And Atonement In Jewish Law And Philosophy And American Legal Thought, Samuel J. Levine
Teshuva: A Look At Repentance, Forgiveness And Atonement In Jewish Law And Philosophy And American Legal Thought, Samuel J. Levine
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Professor Levine examines the atonement model and its relevance to American law. He outlines and explains the necessary steps by the wrongdoer for atonement: repentance, apology, reparation and penance. The wronged party then has the obligation of reconciliation for the process to be complete. Despite the prominent position it has held for millennia in religious thinking, the atonement model is relatively new to American legal theory. Professor Stephen Garvey's attempt to offer a systematic depiction and analysis of the process of atonement and its possible relevance to American law appears to represent the most extensive effort to date. Any application …
Halacha And Aggada: Translating Robert Cover’S Nomos And Narrative, Samuel J. Levine
Halacha And Aggada: Translating Robert Cover’S Nomos And Narrative, Samuel J. Levine
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Levine takes a look at Robert Cover's 1983 Harvard Law Review article, Nomos and Narrative. Nomos is characterized by its heavy reliance on Jewish sources as a basis for analyzing contemporary American legal theory. The basis of narrative is the thesis that no set of legal institutions or prescriptions exists apart from the narratives that locate it and give it meaning, so law becomes not merely a system of rules to be observed, but a world in which we live. Cover's explanation of these ideas coincided with and influenced the emergence of what has become known as "legal storytelling". In …
Capital Punishment In Jewish Law And Its Application To The American Legal System: A Conceptual Overview, Samuel J. Levine
Capital Punishment In Jewish Law And Its Application To The American Legal System: A Conceptual Overview, Samuel J. Levine
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In recent years, a growing body of scholarship has developed in the United States that applies concepts in Jewish law to unsettled, controversial, and challenging areas of American legal thought. One area of Jewish legal thought that has found prominence in both American court opinions and American legal scholarship concerns the approach taken by Jewish law to capital punishment. In this Essay, Levine discusses the issue of the death penalty in Jewish law as it relates to the question of the death penalty in American law, a discussion that requires the rejection of simplistic conclusions and the confrontation of the …
The Broad Life Of The Jewish Lawyer: Integrating Spirituality, Scholarship And Profession, Samuel J. Levine
The Broad Life Of The Jewish Lawyer: Integrating Spirituality, Scholarship And Profession, Samuel J. Levine
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The religious individual faces the constant challenge of reconciling religious ideals with the mundane realities of everyday life. Indeed, it is through the performance of ordinary daily activities that a person can truly observe such religious duties as serving God and loving one's neighbor. For the Orthodox Jew, an intricate set of religious laws and principles governs every area of life. In choosing a career, an Orthodox Jew must therefore be concerned that professional obligations not interfere with the fulfillment of religious ones. While religious duties impose obligations on the religious individual, at the same time they provide opportunities to …