Reason in Law
Arguing that good legal reasoning remains the best device by which we can ensure that judicial impartiality, the rule of law, and social trust and peace are preserved, Thomas F. Burke and Lief H. Carter present an accessible and lively text that analyzes the politics of the judicial process. Looking at the larger social and institutional contexts that affect the rule of law – including religious beliefs and media coverage of the courts – Reason in Law uses cases ripped from the headlines to...
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Arguing that good legal reasoning remains the best device by which we can ensure that judicial impartiality, the rule of law, and social trust and peace are preserved, Thomas F. Burke and Lief H. Carter present an accessible and lively text that analyzes the politics of the judicial process. Looking at the larger social and institutional contexts that affect the rule of law – including religious beliefs and media coverage of the courts – Reason in Law uses cases ripped from the headlines to illustrate its theory in real-world practice.
1 What Legal Reasoning Is, and Why It Matters An Overview of Law and PoliticsA Definition of LawA Definition of Legal ReasoningLegal Reasoning Does Not Discover the “One Right Answer.”The Four Elements of Legal ReasoningSources of Official Legal TextsThe Choices That Legal Reasoning ConfrontsIllustrative CaseQuestions about the Case2 Change and Stability in Legal ReasoningSources of Unpredictibility in LawIs Unpredictability in Law Desirable?Vertical and Horizontal Stare Decisis: A Stabilizing and Clarifying Element in Law.Illustrative CasesQuestions about the Cases3 Common LawOrigins of Common LawReasoning by Example in Common LawKeeping the Common-Law Tradition AliveThe Common-Law Tradition TodayIllustrative CaseQuestions about the Case4 Statutory InterpretationWhat are Statutes?Four Misguided Approaches to “First Instance” Statutory InterpretationPurpose: The Key to Wise Statutory InterpretationStare Decisis in Statutory InterpretationA Summary Statement of the Appropriate Judicial Approach to Statutory InterpretationIllustrative CaseQuestions about the Case5 Interpreting the United States Constitution“The Supreme Law of the Land”Conventional Legal Reasoning in Constitutional InterpretationJudicial Review and Democratic TheoryThe Turn to Individual DignityIllustrative CaseQuestions about the Case6 Law and Politics The Rule of LawThree Threats to the Rule of LawThe Rule of Law as Liberal JustificationIllustrative CaseAppendix A: Introduction to Legal Procedure and TerminologyAppendix B: Law and Politics: The Rule of Law and the Bush Administration
