Law Commons^™

Stories Of Origin And Constitutional Possibilities, Milner S. Ball

Michigan Law Review

Robert Cover once observed how "[n]o set of legal institutions or prescriptions exists apart from the narratives that locate it and give it meaning. For every constitution there is an epic, for each decalogue a scripture." Stories of origin locate law, invest it with legitimacy, and so lend it stability. As Cover went on to note, however, the narratives that legitimate a legal order also retain revolutionary force, for a return to the originating acts recounted in the narratives is always possible. A polity begun in revolution remains subject to revolution.

There is an American story of origins. It is …

Just Punishment In An Imperfect World, Stephen J. Schulhofer

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Questioning Authority: Justice and Criminal Law by David L. Bazelon

Tempered Zeal: A Columbia Law Professor's Year On The Streets With The New York City Police, Carol J. Sulcoski

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Tempered Zeal: A Columbia Law Professor's Year on the Streets with the New York City Police