SOSC 2350 Lecture Notes - Critical Legal Studies, Legal Realism, Dominant Ideology
22 Nov 2013
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Document Summary
Influential view of law and its place in society. Secular and liberal orientation (separation for church and state: individual rights, individualistic people, mutually disinterested/self-interested people, freedom from interference, equality, universality, scientific and rational. Law is resilient, reliable and valid, seen as neutral in applying to everyone fairly. Legal reasoning is apolitical, neutral and objective. Judges do not make law, they find it (interpretation) Holmes the life of the law has not been logic . Judicial temperament, social class, values, etc. are more important in the final outcome of cases. Law is a prediction of what courts will decide. Rejected abstract rules and sought to base interpretation on reality. We get fairly consistent decisions because we all share basic ideological (lens through which we view the world) predispositions. Law is not a set of ideal standards but a function of society. Law should be used to promote human improvement. Rights should be protected insofar as they promote the common good.
