Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Effect Of Legal Theories On Judicial Decisions, Anthony D'Amato
The Effect Of Legal Theories On Judicial Decisions, Anthony D'Amato
Faculty Working Papers
I draw a distinction in the beginning of this essay between judicial decision-making and a judge's decision-making. To persuade a judge, we should try to discover what her theories are. Across a range of theories, I offered well-known case examples typically cited as examples of each theory. Then I showed that the exact same theory used to justify or explain those case results could be used to justify or explain the opposite result in each of those cases.
Can Any Legal Theory Constrain Any Judicial Decision?, Anthony D'Amato
Can Any Legal Theory Constrain Any Judicial Decision?, Anthony D'Amato
Faculty Working Papers
A growing number of legal scholars have recently revived the American legal realist thesis that legal theory does not dictate the result in any particular case because legal theory itself is indeterminate. A more radical group has added that theory can never constrain judicial practice. I will present a spectrum of types of legal theories to demonstrate that the position of the more radical group of writers is correct—that legal theory is inherently incapable of identifying which party should win any given case.
Pragmatic Indeterminacy, Anthony D'Amato
Pragmatic Indeterminacy, Anthony D'Amato
Faculty Working Papers
If, as a result of taking Indeterminacy seriously, we revolutionize the way we teach law and the way we select judges, then we will also revolutionize the way cases are litigated (because the new judges will expect to hear a different kind of argumentation) and the way people order their lives in anticipation of the way their disputes will be decided by these new judges.
The Limits Of Legal Realism, Anthony D'Amato
The Limits Of Legal Realism, Anthony D'Amato
Faculty Working Papers
This article will address some criticisms of legal realism, primarily those of H.L.A. Hart, that have been unanswered in the literature and have appeared to discredit the realist approach to law. The article will also articulate what I believe to be more difficult problems with legal realism.