Law Commons^™

A Note On Trend-Spotting In The Case Law, Keith N. Hylton

Faculty Scholarship

Professor Robert Hillman tells us that he "will not try to resolve whether ... we should be enthusiastic or lament the recent judicial trend to apply rules that favor written contracts." This is a refreshingly non-dogmatic approach in a field where scholars are continually asserting reasons to celebrate or lament some new judicial trend. Moreover, Professor Hillman, again admirably in my view, is not even sure such a trend exists. If there is a trend in favor of written contracts, however, he believes that it has resulted because (1) "judicial decisions applying private law reflect changes in public opinion," and …