Ⅰ WHAT LEGAL REASONING IS, AND WHY IT MATTERS 1
An Overview of Law and Politics 1
A Definition of Law 3
A Definition of Legal Reasoning 8
Three Ways to Classify Law 13
Where Legal Rules Are Made 13
The Problems That Laws Address 16
Dynamics of Law: The Choices That Laws Create 17
ILLUSTRATIVE CASE 21
QUESTIONS 27
Ⅱ CHANGE AND STABILITY IN LEGAL REASONING 29
Unpredictability in Law 30
Reasoning from Words 30
Reasoning from Examples of Precedents 32
Stage One: Reasoning by Example in General 33
Stage Two: Examples in Law 33
Stage Three: The Three-Step Process of Reasoning by Example 35
Stage Four: How Reasoning by Example Perpetuates Unpredictability in Law 35
Stage Five: An Illustration of Unpredictability in Law 36
Stage Six: Reasoning by Example Facilitates Legal Change 38
Is Unpredictability in Law Desirable? 39
The Other Side of the Coin: Stare Decisis as a Stabilizing and Clarifying Element in Law 40
ILLUSTRATIVE CASES 45
QUESTIONS 50
Ⅲ STATUTORY INTERPRETATION 55
What Are Statutes? 55
Three Ways Judges Mistakenly Interpret Statutes 59
First Mistake: Sticking to the Literal Meaning of Words 59
Second Mistake: The Golden Rule 62
Third Mistake: Legislative Intent and Legislative History 64
Idle Armchair Speculation 64
Other Words in the Statute 66
The Expressed Intent of Individual Legislators and Committee Reports 67
Other Actions, Events, and Decisions in the Legislature 68
Words, Intent, and History Do Not Reach "Correct" Interpretations 71
The Disorderly Conduct of Words 72
The Booming Canons of Statutory Construction 74
Judicial Naivete about the Legislative Process 78
How Judges Should Interpret Statutes in the First Instance 84
The Centrality of Statutory Purpose 85
Determining Purpose: Words Can Help 86
Determining Purpose: The Audience 87
Determining Purpose: The Assumption of Legislative Rationality and the Uses of Legislative History 87
Illustrations of Statutory Purpose 89
Three Easy Cases 89
The Case of the Lady Jurors, or Why Legislative Intent Does not Necessarily Determine Statutory Purpose 90
Statutory Purpose in the Cases of Criminal Commerce: Caminetti, McBoyle, and Alpers 91
A Final Complication 95
Stare Decisis in Statutory Interpretation 96
Major League Baseball, Haviland's Dog and Pony Show, and Government Regulation of Business 98
The Case Against Increased Adherence to Precedent in Statutory Interpretation 107
A Summary Statement of the Appropriate Judicial Approach to Statutory Interpretation 112
ILLUSTRATIVE CASE 113
QUESTIONS 115
Ⅳ COMMON LAW 118
Origins of Common Law 119
Reasoning by Example in Common Law 124
The Cherry Tree 127
The Pit 134
The Diving Board 136
Analyzing Cases 139
Changing Judicial Styles 141
Change in Law Itself 141
Keeping the Common Law Tradition Alive 143
Making Common Law Without Close Precedents 145
Horizontal Stare Decisis in Common Law 150
Rightly Adhering to Precedent Because the Need for Stability and Reliance Is Present 151
Wrongly Adhering to Precedent When Stability Is Unnecessary 156
The Common Law Tradition Today 162
ILLUSTRATIVE CASE 173
QUESTIONS 178
Ⅴ INTERPRETING THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION 182
"The Supreme Law of the Land" 184
Conventional Legal Reasoning in Constitutional Interpretation 188
Words as Channels of Meaning 189
The Intent of the Framers and the Purpose of Constitutional Provisions 192
Stare Decisis 194
Two Alternatives for Constitutional Reasoning 196
Theories About Constitutional Justification 196
Political Constraints on the Court 202
ILLUSTRATIVE CASE 208
QUESTIONS 216
Ⅵ LAW AND POLITICS 222
Law and Politics I: Impartiality and Trust 224
Impartial Judgment 227
Law and Politics II: Law as a Public Language 236
Law and Moralistic Communities: The Mann Act Revisited 239
Law and Bureaucratic Communities: The Case of the Good Samaritan Revisited 245
Conclusion 258
ILLUSTRATIVE CASE 261
QUESTIONS 266
APPENDIX: INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL PROCEDURE AND TERMINOLOGY 270
INDEX 281
INDEX OF CASES 285