Legal History Commons^™

No Lever And No Place To Stand (A Response To Christopher Shannon), John Henry Schlegel

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Unjust Laws In A Democratic Society: Some Philosophical And Theological Reflections, John M. Finnis

Journal Articles

Largely rejecting Christian faith and every other recognition of human dependence upon transcendent intelligence and will, our societies are diverging further and further from every type of Christian commonwealth or "civilization of love." In such a situation, one must ask whether Christians involved in politics can have a reasonable expectation of shaping the main lines of public policy and law. Can they expect to do any more than, sometimes, help limit the damage and, always, bear witness to the faith and to the moral truths which are taught by faith?

Institutions And Linguistic Conventions: The Pragmatism Of Lieber's Legal Hermeneutics, Guyora Binder

Journal Articles

This article presents Francis Lieber’s 1839 treatise “Legal and Political Hermeneutics” as a surprisingly modern and pragmatic account of interpretation. It first explicates the two most important influences on Liber’s thought, the romantic philology of Friedrich Schleiermacher, and the institutional positivism of Whig jurists Story and Kent. It shows that both of these sources frankly acknowledged that interpretation is an institutional practice, organized by the evolving aims and customs of the institutions within which it took place. Both tended to view the writing and reading of texts as the deployment of linguistic conventions. Both movements thereby viewed meaning for all …

An Overview Of The Scholarship In Law And Religion Of Judge John T. Noonan, Jr., Robert E. Rodes

Journal Articles

I first met John Noonan at a Law Review dinner when I was a year or so out of law school and he was a third year student. Chance placed us at the same table, and the conversation-naturally-proved to be more interesting than the speeches.

I am honored, indeed, blessed, to have been exposed to that witness for so many decades, and deeply grateful for the opportunity to come here on this occasion and bear my own witness in return.

Closing Argument, James H. Seckinger

Journal Articles

To put closing argument in perspective, lawsuits are won or lost on the evidence and the law, not on the advocate's analytical and oratory skill. As pointed out by Broun and Seckinger: “This is not intended to minimize the importance of the closing argument. It is merely to relegate it to its proper position, which is a summation of the evidence that has preceded it and a relation of that evidence to the issues in the case.”

An effective closing is an argument, not a summation. An effective closing argument should attack the serious problems in a case and put …

Listening For The Future In The Voices Of The Past: John T. Noonan, Jr. On Love And Power In Human History, M. Cathleen Kaveny

Journal Articles

A discussion of works on moral theology and canon law by Judge John T. Noonan Jr. (1926-2017) from the 1950s to the 1980s, which deal with the subjects of usury, contraception, marriage, slavery, bribery and religious liberty. Its focus is on Noonan’s normative commitments regarding epistemology, theological anthropology and the relation of love, justice and law. The article argues that Noonan was influenced by three core ideas, an epistemological view that moral knowledge is sought after and articulated in particular times and places, an anthropological view that argues the study of ethics, law, and theology must sensitively discern the core …

A Process Theory Of Torts, Jay Tidmarsh

Journal Articles

This article is meant to reconcile two schools of intellectual thought regarding tort law, the conceptualist and the anti-conceptualist. It argues that torts must be understood as a system in perpetual process--forever indefinite and infinitely malleable in its precise theoretical, doctrinal and practical manifestations--yet ultimately bounded in its possibilities. It then defines the limits of torts law as a process that constantly regenerates the old face of tort theory, doctrine and practice into the new.

Liberalism And Natural Law Theory, John M. Finnis

Journal Articles

I shall argue, in the course of this lecture, that the title I gave myself is a bad one, one that sets a bad example. "Liberalism," like "conservatism" and "socialism," is too local, contingent and shifting a term to deserve a place in a general theory of society, politics, government and law. So I had better say at once which proposition or set of propositions I, on this occasion, was gesturing towards with the word "liberalism," out of all the many propositions, often conflicting, which have been called "liberal." What I had in mind was the thesis that government and …

The New Natural Law Theory: A Reply To Jean Porter, Gerard V. Bradley, Robert George

Journal Articles

The theory of practical reasoning and morality proposed by Germain Grisez, and developed by him in frequent collaboration with John Finnis and Joseph Boyle, is the most formidable presentation of natural law theory in this century. Although work by Finnis and others has brought this "new natural law theory" (NNLT) to the attention of secular philosophers, the theory is of particular interest to Catholic moralists. This is because NNLT provides resources for a fresh defense of traditional moral norms, including those forbidding abortion, euthanasia, and other forms of "direct" killing, as well as sexual immoralities such as fornication, sodomy, and …

Response To Hittinger, Gerard V. Bradley

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Morality And Legal Reasoning, Gerard V. Bradley

Journal Articles

Natural law has been derided by several generations of intellectuals as "nonsense on stilts" (Bentham) or a "brooding omni- presence in the sky" (Holmes). Nevertheless, the idea refuses to go away. For a long time natural law theory was the preserve of neo- Scholastic theologians and philosophers in Roman Catholic universities and seminaries. In a nice bit of irony, however, just as Catholic institutions have begun to secularize by adopting the norms and standards of prominent institutions such as Harvard, Oxford, and Princeton, defenders of natural law theory have suddenly popped up at just these establishments. Fully equipped with the …

"Mastering The Lawless Science Of Our Law": A Story Of Legal Citation Indexes, Patti J. Ogden

Journal Articles

Ms. Ogden presents a history of American legal citation indexes, covering early nineteenth-century attempts, the development of modern citator systems by Frank Shepard and others, online citation systems, and the potential for future improvements in an essential tool of legal research.

The Colonial Origins Of Liberal Property Rights, Elizabeth B. Mensch

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Presenting Expert Testimony, James H. Seckinger

Journal Articles

Mindful that the readers of this Commentary include both experienced advocates as well as lawyers embarking on new careers in the courtroom, this author has divided the Commentary into two parts. The first part considers the seven touchstones for a persuasive direct examination of an expert witness. This discussion should be useful for the experienced and inexperienced advocate alike. The second part of the paper is intended as a primer on practical matters surrounding the selection, preparation, and presentation of an expert as a witness at trial. Experienced advocates may find in these pages confirmation of their practice concerning the …

Natural Law And Legal Reasoning, John M. Finnis

Journal Articles

Much academic theory about legal reasoning greatly exaggerates the extent to which reason can settle what is greater good or lesser evil, and minimizes the need for authoritative sources which, so far as they are clear and respect the few absolute moral rights and duties, are to be respected as the only rational basis for judicial reasoning and decision, in relation to the countless issues which do not directly involve those absolute rights and duties. A natural law theory in the classical tradition makes no pretense that natural reason can determine the one right answer to those countless questions which …

Concluding Reflections, John M. Finnis

Journal Articles

A symposium to which one person contributes three extended papers is no unmixed pleasure for readers. This third contribution of mine will interest only those curious to see my response to other symposiasts' comments on my earlier efforts (in the symposium and elsewhere). To enable this curiosity to be satisfied as costlessly as possible, I divide these concluding reflections by authors rather than themes, though with priorities suggested by themes rather than authors.

Secular Cases In The Church Courts: A Historical Survey, Robert E. Rodes

Journal Articles

When students of legal history think of church courts, they may conjure up thoughts of some odd and obsolete tribunal about which Dickens wrote, while students of popular history may think of the people who burned Joan of Arc. In contrast, when Roman Catholics think of Church courts, they may think of tribunals which do no more than grant marriage annulments, while American Protestants may think of nothing at all. Church courts encompass the whole range of institutions used by different churches, including Jewish communities, for authoritative intervention into affairs of individual church members. Institutions of this kind have had …

Property And Suffrage In The Early American Republic, Robert J. Steinfeld

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Some Reasons For A Restoration Of Natural Law Jurisprudence, Charles E. Rice

Journal Articles

The growing influence of utilitarianism and legal positivism in American jurisprudence today and the decline of natural law have produced an ominous shift in the foundation of our legal system. This shift is illustrated by various courts' approaches to momentous legal issues of the Twentieth Century such as abortion and euthanasia. Ultimately, legal positivism is unacceptable as a jurisprudential framework because it provides no inherent limits on the power of the state and no basis for determining what is just. In contrast, the natural law provides a jurisprudential framework that both guides and limits the civil law. It therefore is …

The Constitutional Theory Of The Fourth Amendment, Gerard V. Bradley

Journal Articles

This Article will, in large part, present its thesis regarding fourth amendment doctrine by employing, as an illustration, a recent application of the current approach by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. In United States v. Torres, the Seventh Circuit held video surveillance constitutional and further found that the judiciary had the authority to issue warrants for such a technique. Although welcomed by prosecutors and law enforcement officials, this decision highlights the absurdity of the current interpretation of the reasonableness clause. Moreover, Torres provides a vehicle through which this Article's historical interpretation can be brought into focus under the cold …

The Line Between History And Casenote, John Henry Schlegel

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Legal Enforcement Of "Duties To Oneself": Kant Vs. Neo-Kantians, John M. Finnis

Journal Articles

This Article considers writings by modern scholars including Rawls, Dworkin, and D.A.J. Richards on the topic of Kant's discussion of the neutrality principle and the harm principle.

Religion, Revival, And The Ruling Class: A Critical History Of Trinity Church, Elizabeth B. Mensch

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Practical Principles, Moral Truth, And Ultimate Ends, John M. Finnis, Germain Grisez, Joseph Boyle

Journal Articles

The natural-law theory on which we have been working during the past twenty-five years has stimulated many critical responses. We have restated the theory in various works, not always calling attention to developments. This paper reformulates some parts of the theory, taking into account the criticisms of which we are aware.

Law And The Experience Of Politics In Late Eighteenth-Century North Carolina: North Carolina Considers The Constitution, Walter F. Pratt

Journal Articles

In 1788, delegates assembled in North Carolina to decide whether to ratify the Constitution. A debate erupted between Federalists and Anti-federalists regarding each Article of the then-drafted Constitution. This Article analyzes the debate, and proposes that the key difference was the function of the role of the law.

Imagining The Past And Remembering The Future: The Supreme Court's History Of The Establishment Clause, Gerard V. Bradley

Journal Articles

Our Framers through the Establishment Clause sought to prevent the government from preferring one religious sect to another. However, the Supreme Court in Everson v. Board of Education abandoned that meaning of nonestablishment and created a general prohibition on all nondiscriminatory aid to religion, a decision later reinforced in Lemon v. Kurtzman. This Article discusses the Founder’s worldview and looks at other Establishment Clause cases to illustrate that the historical evidence is inconsistent with Everson. Rather, the founders intended to assure that religion would be aided only on a nondiscriminatory, or sect-neutral, basis and does not stand for …

The "Natural Law Tradition", John M. Finnis

Journal Articles

This "tradition of natural law theory" has three main features: First, critique and rejection of ethical scepticism, dogmatism and conventionalism; Second, clarification of the methodology of descriptive and explanatory social theories (e.g., political science, economics, jurisprudence .... ); Third, critique and rejection of aggregative conceptions of the right and the just (e.g., consequentialism, utilitarianism, wealth-maximization, "proportionalism"...).

Levinson Builds The Kingdom: Comment On "Professing Law", Thomas L. Shaffer

Journal Articles

This Article takes the perspective that the professed law is an idol. As such, it is false worship, which is led by false priests, and is rationalized by false prophets. Professor Shaffer proposes that those who believe in the will of God are presented with two tasks. First, one must tear down this idol, and secondly, one must then build the Kingdom. He focuses his discussion on how one can build the Kingdom, and examines the viability of a Kingdom built upon constitutionalism, citizenship, and community.

Discretion In Making Legal Decisions: A Frances Lewis Law Center Colloquium, Thomas L. Shaffer

Journal Articles

Colloquium papers, pp. 1161-1311, edited by Professor Shaffer.

Gaming, Lotteries, And Wagering: The Pre-Revolutionary Roots Of The Law Of Gambling, G. Robert Blakey

Journal Articles

Over the last several decades, there has been an increasing trend to move away from general prohibition against gambling and to move towards legalizing various forms of gambling. This Article traces the pre-revolutionary roots concerning the law of gambling and breaks the discussion into three types: gaming, lotteries, and wagering. In particular, the discussion focuses on the law and practice of the English prior to 1776 and the law and practice of the Early Colonial Period from 1929-1776. The Author proposes that an understanding of the past is needed in order to reform the law of gambling without succumbing to …