SOSC 3375 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Miranda Warning, Legal Realism

• School: York University
• Department: Social Science
• Course: SOSC 3375
• Professor: David Szablowski

Document Summary

Legal realists of the 1920&1930s reacting against dominant ideas. That law consists of the positive commands of the sovereign. Law and legal interpretation is a science of close reading. Realists critiqued the idea of a neutral science of law free. Advanced the notion that attention needed to be paid to: The law in action not just the law in books. Need to focus on the law in action (cid:862)the life of the la(cid:449) has (cid:374)ot (cid:271)ee(cid:374) logi(cid:272). La(cid:449) (cid:373)ost usefull(cid:455) (cid:272)o(cid:374)side(cid:396)ed th(cid:396)ough the e(cid:455)es of a (cid:862)(cid:271)ad (cid:373)a(cid:374)(cid:863). Legal realists argued that the law needed to be studied in action. Legal realism: dissent in the law schools cont. Realists inspired by new deal and rise of modern regulatory state. Formalists distrusted and tended to oppose new government in action. Formalist courts often stood in the way of progressive regulation by government. Arose in the1960 and 1970s mostly out of law schools.