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Full-Text Articles in Law
Law Library Blog (September 2018): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law
Law Library Blog (September 2018): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law
Law Library Newsletters/Blog
No abstract provided.
Newsroom: Have We Outgrown Brown? 02-06-2018, Michael M. Bowden
Newsroom: Have We Outgrown Brown? 02-06-2018, Michael M. Bowden
Life of the Law School (1993- )
No abstract provided.
Doctrinal Reasoning As A Disruptive Practice, Jessie Allen
Doctrinal Reasoning As A Disruptive Practice, Jessie Allen
Articles
Legal doctrine is generally thought to contribute to legal decision making only to the extent it determines substantive results. Yet in many cases, the available authorities are indeterminate. I propose a different model for how doctrinal reasoning might contribute to judicial decisions. Drawing on performance theory and psychological studies of readers, I argue that judges’ engagement with formal legal doctrine might have self-disrupting effects like those performers experience when they adopt uncharacteristic behaviors. Such disruptive effects would not explain how judges ultimately select, or should select, legal results. But they might help legal decision makers to set aside subjective biases.