Experts analyze the common law through three of its classic themes: rules, reasoning, and constitutionalism.
Introduction Douglas E. Edlin Part I. Common Law Rules: 1. Judges as rulemakers Larry Alexander and Emily Sherwin 2. Some types of law John Gardner Part II. Common Law Reasoning: 3. The principles of legal reasoning in the common law Melvin A. Eisenberg 4. A similibus ad similia: analogical thinking in law Gerald J. Postema 5. Reasoned decisions and legal theory David Dyzenhaus and Michael Taggart Part III. Common Law Constitutionalism: 6. Common law, natural law, and the constitution James R. Stoner, Jr. 7. Text, context, and constitution: the common law as public reason T. R. S. Allan 8. The myth of the common law constitution Jeffrey Goldsworthy.