Jurisprudence Commons^™

Entering With A Vengeance: Posner On Law And Literature, Richard H. Weisberg

Articles

The article critiques Richard A. Posner's book Law and Literature: A Misunderstood Relation, arguing that while it offers a comprehensive analysis of law-related literature, it reflects Posner's authoritarian bias and dismisses literature's critical potential to challenge legal authority. Posner's approach is seen as overly deductive and dismissive of literary insights that question legal power structures.

Reaction To Terrorism: A Jewish Law Caveat, J. David Bleich

Articles

No abstract provided.

Is Abandoning State Action Asking Too Much Of The Constitution, Scott E. Sundby

Articles

No abstract provided.

Authority And Value: Reflections On Raz's Morality Of Freedom, Donald H. Regan

Articles

Joseph Raz's The Morality of Freedom1 is full of subtle, original, and thought provoking arguments. It also manifests abundantly Raz's philosophical good sense and sensitivity to the complexities of the moral life. These are reasons enough to class it with the handful of genuinely important books whose appearance in the last two decades has constituted a renaissance in political philosophy. But in my opinion, Raz has another, and even stronger claim on our attention: He comes closer to the truth about political morality than anyone has for nearly a century. (Possibly much longer, but we need not attempt to decide …

Nollan, Henry George, And Exactions, Stewart E. Sterk

Articles

The article examines the legal and economic implications of exactions, particularly in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission. While exactions—requirements imposed on developers to provide municipal benefits—can theoretically promote efficiency and fairness, the analysis suggests that their practical implementation by municipalities is fraught with challenges. These challenges include the potential for inefficiency, unfairness, and arbitrary decision-making, which may undermine their effectiveness and raise constitutional concerns. The article argues that the concerns expressed in Nollan and other cases stem from the fear that exaction schemes could lead to inefficient and unfair municipal behavior, as well …

Family Feud: A Response To Robert Weisberg On Law And Literature, Richard H. Weisberg

Articles

The article engages in a critical dialogue with Robert Weisberg's work on the intersection of law and literature, particularly his skepticism toward the field's potential for sentimentality and his resistance to the literary text as a primary source of legal insight. The author argues that literature provides a unique lens for understanding the irrationalities and ethical dimensions of legal discourse, challenging Weisberg's dismissal of its value. The article contends that Law and Literature must embrace its subversive potential to critique legal assumptions and institutional language, while also addressing the broader cultural and epistemological challenges facing interdisciplinary scholarship.

Appellate Review Of Refusals To Depart, David Yellen

Articles

No abstract provided.

Making Sense Of Modern Jurisprudence: The Paradox Of Positivism And The Challenge For Natural Law, Philip E. Soper

Articles

Karl Llewellyn once said, referring to Roscoe Pound's work m jurisprudence, that it was difficult to tell on what level the writing proceeded: sometimes it seemed to be little more than bedtime stones for a tired bar; at other tunes it appeared to be on the level of the after-dinner speech or a thought provoking essay, neither of which were quite the "considered and buttressed scholarly discussion" that one expected to find. Llewellyn's complaint serves as a warning, though a somewhat ambiguous one, to those who give lectures on jurisprudence.

On the one hand, I do not plan to present …

The Tax Treatment Of Qualified Plans: A Classic Defense Of The Status Quo, Edward A. Zelinsky

Articles

The current tax treatment of qualified pension and profit sharing plans has been criticized by commentators as an unfair and expensive tax expenditure. In this Article, Professor Zelinsky challenges this characterization and defends the current treatment of qualified plans on the ground that it is at least as attractive as its alternatives and superior to many of them. After evaluating the current treatment and the alternatives under the criteria of measurability, administrability, liquidity, equity, and simplicity, Professor Zelinsky concludes that the present treatment of qualified plans can be viewed as an acceptable part of a normative income tax.

Philosophy In Bankruptcy, David G. Carlson

Articles

The article critically examines Jackson's theories on bankruptcy law, arguing that his "creditor's bargain" model is logically inconsistent and lacks empirical support. It highlights flaws in his assumptions of creditor equality and the justification for bankruptcy discharge, ultimately concluding that his work is ad hoc and unverifiable.

Text Into Theory: A Literary Approach To The Constitution, Richard H. Weisberg

Articles

The article explores the evolving dialogue between legal scholars and literary theorists, particularly focusing on how judicial opinions can be viewed as narrative fictions. It challenges traditional notions of textual autonomy in legal interpretation, suggesting that meaning is not fixed but is shaped by subjective readings. The analysis critiques the dichotomy between interpretivism and noninterpretivism, arguing that both approaches are inherently subjective. Drawing on historical and structural interpretations of the Constitution, the article advocates for a balanced approach that considers both textual integrity and communal values, emphasizing that constitutional truths are embedded within societal ideas rather than being strictly majoritarian …

Teaching Philosophy Of Law In Law Schools: Some Cautionary Remarks, Patricia D. White

Articles

No abstract provided.

Alternative Methodologies In Contemporary Jurisprudence: Comments On Dworkin, Philip E. Soper

Articles

I have two brief points to make. Both involve recent developments in jurisprudence, by which I mean by and large the subject that Ronald Dworkin has just been discussing. Indeed, the first point is little more than an acknowledgement of the debt that is owed to Dworkin, not only for his specific contributions to this field, but for the implications of his work for law teaching generally.

Law's Halo, Donald H. Regan

Articles

Like many people these days, I believe there is no general moral obligation to obey the law. I shall explain why there is no such moral obligation - and I shall clarify what I mean when I say there is no moral obligation to obey the law - as we proceed. But also like many people, I am unhappy with a position that would say there was no moral obligation to obey the law and then say no more about the law's moral significance. In our thinking about law in a reasonably just society, we have a strong inclination to …

What A Sensible Natural Lawyer And A Sensible Utilitarian Agree About And Disagree About: Comments On Finnis, Donald H. Regan

Articles

Before I start, let me say two things. First of all, to the extent that John Finnis is entering a plea for more attention to what is a relatively neglected tradition (in the narrow his message a hundred percent. And you courd learning about the natural law tradition than by reading his book, Natural Law and Natural Rights. My second introductory observation is that Finnis and I agree about many more things than you might expect if you just think of him as a natural law theorist and me as a utilitarian. I am very eccentric as a utilitarian. He …

The History Of Statutory Interpretation: A Study In Form And Substance, William S. Blatt

Articles

No abstract provided.

On Preferences And Promises: A Response To Harsanyi, Donald H. Regan

Articles

John C. Harsanyi sketches an entire normative and metaethical theory in under twenty pages. Combining breadth and brevity, his essay is useful and interesting. It reveals the interrelations between Harsanyi's positions on various issues as no longer work or series of articles could do. But by virtue of its programmatic nature, the essay creates a dilemma for a commentator, at least for one who finds many things to disagree with. If I responded to Harsanyi in the same sweeping terms in which he argues, we would end up with little more than opposing assertions. At the other extreme, I could …

A Response To Fish And White, Richard H. Weisberg

Articles

The article explores the dynamic interplay between the text and its interpreter within legal and literary hermeneutics, emphasizing the balance between the text's inherent qualities and the reader's contextual influences. It mediates between Fish's emphasis on professional context guiding interpretation and Fiss's advocacy for objective textual constraints, while highlighting White's view that judicial opinions should be complex and poetic, integrating cultural context.

The Quest For Silence: Faulkner's Lawyer In A Comparative Setting, Richard H. Weisberg

Articles

The article explores William Faulkner's portrayal of Gavin Stevens, a fictional lawyer, highlighting his evolution as a character and his unique place within the tradition of literary lawyer figures. The analysis focuses on Gavin's development in The Town, where he learns the value of silence and observation, distinguishing him from other lawyers in literature who often remain static in their personal growth. The article situates Gavin within a broader literary context, comparing him to characters from works by authors like Dickens and Twain, and argues for his significance as a complex and sympathetic character.

The Persistence Of Classical Style, Patrick O. Gudridge

Articles

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction, Richard H. Weisberg

Articles

The article introduces a special issue of a journal dedicated to the field of Law and Literature, showcasing essays that highlight the enduring relevance of literary works in understanding legal themes and structures. It emphasizes the significance of Kafka's The Trial and other works by authors like Dickens and Chaucer in exploring legal systems and their societal impact. The issue also underscores the importance of interdisciplinary scholarship in advancing the field, demonstrating its ability to attract new voices and perspectives.

Glosses On Dworkin: Rights, Principles, And Policies, Donald H. Regan

Articles

A great many people have attempted to explain what is wrong with the views of Ronald Dworkin. So many, indeed, that one who read only the critics might wonder why views so widely rejected have received so much attention. One reason is that, whatever may be wrong in Dworkin's theories, there is a good deal that is right in them. But what is right is not always clear. Important passages in Dworkin can be distressingly obscure, or tantalizingly incomplete. This essay is a set of loosely connected observations on themes from Dworkin. While I shall add some criticisms of my …

Mondale On Mapp, Yale Kamisar

Articles

Any judicial reversal of the Mapp rule threatens to have just the opposite effect. Law enforcement officials are likely to treat a decision that illegally obtained evidence may be admitted into state criminal trials as though that were a practical suspension of the constitutional rules as to lawful arrest, search, and seizure. They are likely to feel that once again "the judiciary is okaying it." With the smell of revelations of FBI "black-bag jobs" and intelligence agency abuses still in the air, is this how we want the Court to contribute to the atmosphere of police practices as we enter …

Secondary Boycott: From Antitrust To Labor Relations, Theodore J. St. Antoine

Articles

The ethos of the labor movement cuts against the American grain at several points. Our national instinct, reflected in many statutes and much judge-made law, is to exalt the rugged individualist over the anonymous group, to favor wide-open competition rather than a controlled market, and to prize the right of each person to remain aloof from the quarrels and concerns of his neighbors. It is not for nothing that our most universal folk hero is the frontiersman, who proudly stands alone and self-sufficient. Yet the ordinary workingman does not have the capacity to assume that heroic stance. For him strength …

Caveat Emptor And The Judicial Process, John B. Waite

Articles

"There are many issues in the law whose solution has an essentially economic cost. There is one issue in particular, however, of immense and most important economic effect, which has been decided and re-decided, but which, strangely enough, the courts never seem to have considered on the merits of its economic relations and effects....

"...[O]ught one to be permitted safely, if honestly, to intrust possession of goods to others; or should one have power safely, if honestly, to buy goods from those in possession...."

The Constitution And Nationalism, Henry M. Bates

Articles

Dean Bates comments on the alarming trend of nationalism in America: "Blind indeed must he be who supposes that our legal and political institutions can escape profound modification by those great changes in commercial, industrial, political and social conditions which, in part, were caused by the world war, but were greatly intensified by it.... No intelligent person, who has any knowledge of history and of the protection which local government has always given to human freedom, can fail to feel a deep and at times shuddering sense of apprehension at the rapidity with which we are massing our governmental power …

Sociological Interpretation Of Law, Joseph H. Drake

Articles

It is not the purpose of this paper to essay a definition of either of the formidable words in the title. The object is rather to call attention away from the metaphysical question, what is law? to the sociological question, how may we best attain justice in the administration of law? and, by the aid of some examples from history and comparative law, to justify as legal and constitutional the sociological method of interpretation. That such justification is necessary is evident from the fact that although the dictum of Mr. Justice. HOLMES in the dissenting opinion in Lochner v. New …

Is A Contract Necessary To Create An Effective Escrow?, Ralph W. Aigler

Articles

WHERE land has been sold and both parties are desirous of protecting themselves pending full payment of the purchase price, there are two common ways of accomplishing their purpose without any change in legal ownership. There may be (1) a contract of sale properly evidenced so as to be enforceable, and (2) a deed executed by the vendor and placed "in escrow." Sometimes one method is preferred, sometimes the other. If the former is adopted, it is, of course, vitally important that the contract comply with the formal requirements of the law; in the latter there has been some difference …

Public Utility Valuation, Edwin C. Goddard

Articles

EVERY consideration of valuation of a public utility, whether for the purpose of condemnation for purchase or as a basis for fixing rates or permitting the issue of stock or bonds, must start from Sinyth v. Ames, and the rule therein laid down by HARLAN, J., at page 546: "We hold, however, that the basis of all calculations as to the reasonableness of rates to be charged by a corporation maintaining a highway under legislative sanction must be the fair value of the property being used by it for the convenience of the public. And in order to ascertain that …

Corporations And Express Trusts As Business Organizations, Horace Lafayette Wilgus

Articles

PRESIDENT BUTLER of Columbia University is reported to have said in an address before the New York Chamber of Commerce in 1911, that "the limited liability corporation is the greatest single discovery of modem times, whether you judge it by its social, by its ethical, by its industrial, or, in the long run--after we understand it and know how to use it,--by its political, effects." 1