Legal Theory Blog |
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 All the theory that fits! Home This is Lawrence Solum's legal theory weblog. Legal Theory Blog comments and reports on recent scholarship in jurisprudence, law and philosophy, law and economic theory, and theoretical work in substantive areas, such as constitutional law, cyberlaw, procedure, criminal law, intellectual property, torts, contracts, etc. RSS Links for Legal Theory Blog --Lawrence B. Solum (My Homepage at the University of Illinois) --My College of Law Directory Page --My Philosophy Department Directory Page --Email me --Legal Theory Annex (All the theory that does not fit.) --Legal Theory Lexicon (Basic concepts in legal theory for first year law students.) --My Publications on SSRN Noteworthy Posts Hiring Trends at 18 "Top" American Law Schools 2005-06 Report on Law School Entry Level Hiring 2004-05 Report on Law School Entry Level Hiring 2003-04 Report on Entry Level Hiring Legal Theory Bookclub: Lessig's Free Culture Getting to Formalism Water Wells and MP3 Files: The Economics of Intellectual Property Do Humans Have Character Traits? Naturalistic Ethics The Case for Strong Stare Decisis, or Why Should Neoformalists Care About Precedent? Part I: The Three Step Argument Part II: Stare Decisis and the Ratchet Part III: Precedent and Principle Fear and Loathing in New Haven A Neoformalist Manifesto Understanding the Confirmation Wars: The Role of Political Ideology and Judicial Philosophy Breaking the Deadlock: Reflections on the Confirmation Wars Going Nuclear: The Constitutionality of Recess Appointments to Article III Courts Archives 09/01/2002 - 10/01/2002 01/01/2003 - 02/01/2003 02/01/2003 - 03/01/2003 03/01/2003 - 04/01/2003 04/01/2003 - 05/01/2003 05/01/2003 - 06/01/2003 06/01/2003 - 07/01/2003 07/01/2003 - 08/01/2003 08/01/2003 - 09/01/2003 09/01/2003 - 10/01/2003 10/01/2003 - 11/01/2003 11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003 12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004 01/01/2004 - 02/01/2004 02/01/2004 - 03/01/2004 03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004 04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004 08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004 09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005 05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005 09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005 10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005 11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006 01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006 03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006 04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006 05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006 06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006 07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006 03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007 Blogosphere New: --PrawfsBlog (Group BLog) --Balkinization (Jack Balkin) --Crescat Sententia (Group Blog) --Crooked Timber (Group Blog) --De Novo (Group Blog) --Desert Landscapes (Group Blog) --Discourse.Net (Michael Froomkin) --Displacement of Concepts (Group Blog) --Election Law (Rick Hasen) --Freedom to Tinker (Ed Felten) --The Garden of Forking Paths --How Appealing (Howard Bashman) --Instapundit (Glenn Reynolds) --Is That Legal? 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Journals Specializing in Legal Philosophy --American Journal of Jurisprudence --The Journal of Philosophy, Science, and Law --Law and Philosophy --Law and Social Inquiry --Legal Theory --Oxford Journal of Legal Studies Legal Theory Resources on the Web Entries from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy +Austin, John +justice, distributive +justice, as a virtue +legal philosophy, economic analysis of law +legal reasoning, interpretation and coherence +legal rights +liberalism +libertarianism +naturalism in legal philosophy +nature of law +nature of law, legal positivism +nature of law, pure theory of law +republicanism From the Oxford Handbook of Jurisprudence +Natural Law Theory: The Modern Tradition From the Oxford Handbook of Legal Studies +Law as an Autonomous Discipline From the Examined Life A Critical Introduction to Liberalism Papers & Articles +Virtue Jurisprudence Organizations +American Political Science Association(APSA) +American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy (ASPLP) +Association of American Law Schools(AALS) +Internationale Vereinigung fur Rechts und Sozialphilosophie(IVR) +Law and Society Association +Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) My Postal Address Lawrence B. Solum University of Illinois College of Law 504 East Pennsylvania Ave Champaign, IL 61820 USA 
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Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Change of Management For everything there is a season. For reasons that are beyond my control and which I do not have authority to divulge, the management of Legal Theory Blog is changing hands. For details, surf here. Update: My apologies to those of you who did not follow the link to Ciceronian Review's satirical post suggesting that LTB had been taken over by Dick Cheney. Not really. Conference Announcement: Digital Cops in Virtual Environment--CyberCrime and Digital Law Enforcement Conference Yale Law School will be hosting Digital Cops in Virtual Environment--CyberCrime and Digital Law Enforcement Conference on March 26-28, 2004. Here is the description:
Bainbridge on the SEC Shareholder Access Proposal Stephen M. Bainbridge (University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law) has posted A Comment on the SEC Shareholder Access Proposal on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Bibas on Therapeutic Judging Stephanos Bibas (University of Iowa - College of Law) has posted Using Plea Procedures to Combat Denial and Minimization (JUDGING IN A THERAPEUTIC KEY, Bruce J. Winick & David B. Wexler, eds., 2003) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Semeraro on Capital Sentencing Steven Semeraro (Thomas Jefferson School of Law) has posted Responsibility in Capital Sentencing (San Diego Law Review, Vol. 39, p. 79, 2002) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Cohen and Blavin on Internet Metaphors I. Glenn Cohen and Jonathan H. Blavin (Law Clerk, U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and Government of the United States of America - 9th Circuit) have posted Gore, Gibson, and Goldsmith: The Evolution of Internet Metaphors in Law and Commentary (Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, Vol. 16, No. 1, p. 265, Fall 2002) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Tuesday, December 30, 2003
More on Public Reason and Faith-Based Prisons My post from yesterday, Public Reasons and Faith-Based Prisons, has prompted a variety of reactions. The distinguished law and religion scholar, Steve Smith, emailed comments which I've appended at the end of my original post. Rick Garnett replied to my post over at Punishment Theory. Here is a taste of Rick's post:
Defending the MLA Chun the Unavoidable defends the MLA against familiar criticisms in this post. See also Invisible Adjunct, John & Belle Have A Blog and John Holbo. Here is a taste of Chun's post:
Rorty on Habermas Richard Rorty has a marvelous review of Jurgen Habermas's Truth and Justification on Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. Here is a taste:
Dana on Existence Value In a world of cost-benefit analysis, how might we account for the value associated with the mere existence of particular natural features (wetlands, forests, etcs.) when that value is not reflected in any form of consumption--other than knowledge that the particular feature exists? David A. Dana (Northwestern University Law School) has posted Existence Value and Federal Preservation Regulation on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Stout on the New Finance Lynn A. Stout (University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law) has posted The Mechanisms of Market Inefficiency: An Introduction to the New Finance on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Korobkin on Form Contracts & Bounded Rationality Russell B. Korobkin (University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law) has posted Bounded Rationality, Standard Form Contracts, and Unconscionability (University of Chicago Law Review, Vol. 70, p. 1203, 2003) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Monday, December 29, 2003
Public Reasons and Faith-Based Prisons (Update: & Comments by Steve Smith) Over at Punishment Theory, there has been a very interesting exchange on faith-based prisons. (Start here and scroll up.) In this most recent posts, the discussion has turned to the question whether it is appropriate for legislators to support faith-based prisons for religious reasons. Rick Garnett's most recent post takes on this thorny issue:
When thinking about this question, I think it is important to be careful and precise. Some of the distinctions that we ought to observe include the following:
2. To which of the following contexts does your principle apply:
4. In particular, would the following be appropriate uses of nonpublic reasons--only insofar as your ideal of public reason is concerned:
b. The inclusion of the following statement in a judicial opinion, "The legislature explicitly relied on Protestant Christianity as the reason for the passage of this bill. Were Protestantism the true faith, it would supply a rational basis for establishment of prisons that teach that doctrine. But Protestantism is a false doctrine, and therefore this legislation lacks a rational basis." Update: My colleague, Steve Smith, writes re my questions for Garnett:
Weekend Wrap Up On Saturday, the Download of the Week was Plea Bargaining Outside the Shadow of Trial by Stephanos Bibas, and the Legal Theory Bookworm recommended a collection of essays by Jeremy Waldron. Sunday's Legal Theory Calendar previewed the start of three important conferences, the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools, the Faculty Division of the Federalist Society, and the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy. Also on Sunday, the Legal Theory Lexicon entry was on Positive and Normative Legal Theory. Allen and Mace on the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination The privilege against self-incrimination has long defied attempts at theoretical explanation. So, I was especially intrigued to see that Ronald J. Allen and M. Kristin Mace (Northwestern University Law School and Independent) have posted The Self-Incrimination Clause Explained and Its Future Predicted (Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 2003) on SSRN. Allen is, of course, one of our most eminent theorists of the law of evidence. Here is the abstract:
Edmundson on Privacy William A. Edmundson (Georgia State Law School) has posted Privacy (THE BLACKWELL GUIDE TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF LAW AND LEGAL THEORY, Martin P. Golding, William A, Edmundson, eds., Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, April 2004) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Greenberg on Deconstructing Binary Race & Sex Categories Julie A. Greenberg (Thomas Jefferson School of Law) has posted Deconstructing Binary Race and Sex Categories: A Comparison of the Multiracial and Transgendered Experience (San Diego Law Review, Vol. 39, p. 917, 2002) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
MacKinnon and Siegel's New Anthology on Sexual Harassment Catharine A. MacKinnon and Reva Siegel (University of Michigan Law School and Yale Law School) have posted Directions in Sexual Harassment Law: Introduction and Afterword (DIRECTIONS IN SEXUAL HARASSMENT LAW, Catharine A. MacKinnon and Reva B. Siegel, eds., Yale Press, 2004) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Legal Theory Lexicon: Positive and Normative Legal Theory
The core idea of the distinction between positive and normative legal theory is simple: positive legal theory seeks to explain what the law is and why it is that way, and how laws affect the world, whereas normative legal theories tell us what the law ought to be. Thus, a positive theory of tort law might seek to explain what causal forces have produced the existing principles of tort law, whereas a normative theory of tort law would tell us what rules of tort liability would be best, right, or justifiable. Or more simply: positive legal theories are about facts and normative legal theories are about values. Positive Legal Theory Sometimes, the notion of positive legal theory is presented in an oversimplified way--as if there were a single, well-defined type of theory that counted as positive. In fact, the phrase "positive legal theory" is used in a variety of ways. The one thing that positive legal theories have in common is that they are not normative. Nonetheless, there are three characteristic type of positive legal theory that can be identified:
Positive Legal Theory Type 2: Explanatory Theories--The second kind of legal theory to which the label "positive" is applied are explanatory theories--theories about why the law is the way it is. For example, a very simple Marxist theory might state that the content of the law can best be explained by the interests of the ruling class. Some legal economists have tried to argue that common-law rules are efficient, because there is "evolutionary pressure" on inefficient legal rules. Positive Legal Theory Type 3: Effects Theories--The third kind of legal theories that are referred to as "positive" are theories about the consequences that will be produced by a given regime of legal rules. This is the sense of "positive theory" that is most frequently invoked by legal economists. The question --"What effects will a strict liability regime (as opposed to a negligence) regime have on the manufacturers of consumer products?"--can be answered by a legal theory that is positive in the sense that it predicts behavior but does not explicitly evaluate the desirability of the rule.
Justificatory Theories and Critical Theories Normative legal theories also vary in their "attitude" towards the status quo. You are likely to encounter normative legal theories that start with the question, "What is the best justification that be given for such and such a legal rule?" These justificatory theories have a limited purpose. They do not address the ultimate question, "What is the best legal rule?" On the other hand, many legal theories have the opposite purpose--the critique of existing legal doctrine. Thus, a critical theory might enumerate all of the criticisms that could be made of an existing legal rule--even though some of the criticisms may rest on inconsistent premises.
Positive Theory as a Constraint on Normative Theory Another relatively noncontroversial relationship between positive and normative legal theories arises when a positive theory that explains why the law has the shape that it does, is taken as imposing a constraint on normative theory. For example, public choice theory makes certain predictions about how legislatures will act in response to various incentives. Some legal rules that might be justified by ideal normative legal theory may be considered "unrealistic" in light of positive theory. In cases like this, positive legal theory provides constraints that limit the options available to normative theory. Interpretivism and "Law as Integrity" There is another, more controversial, way that positive and normative legal theory can interact. Ronald Dworkin's theory of law, "law as integrity," attempts to combine the aims of positive doctrinal theory and normative theory. The idea is that a legal theory should both fit and justify the existing legal landscape. Thus, a Dworkinian theory of the freedom of speech would need to both fit the contours of the Supreme Court's decisions and justify those decisions. Of those interpretations of free speech doctrine that fit the legal topography, Dworkin maintains that judges should select that interpretation that makes the existing law, "the best that it can be." Dworkin's view of legal theory blurs the line between positive and normative legal theory--essentially combining the enterprises that I have called positive doctrinal theory and justificatory normative theory. As you might imagine, this is hugely controversial--although that is a topic for another post. For a complete collection of all the Legal Theory Lexicon posts with a table of contents, go here. Legal Theory Calendar
Friday, January 2
The Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools begins today, with registration only.
Section on Law and Religion: One Nation Under God? Unity, Diversity, and Neutrality Under the Religion Clauses Joint Program of Sections on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Civil Procedure: Competing or Complementary Rule Systems? Adjudication, Arbitration and the Procedural World of the Future Section on Socio-Economics: Socio-Economics, Peace and Justice American Society for Political and Legal Theory continues, with two panels:
Toleration and Recognition, with Ingrid Creppell (George Washington University) delivers a paper entitled "Toleration, Politics and the Common World" and commentary is provided by Glen Newey (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow) and Noah Feldman, New York University, with Jacob Levy, University of Chicago serving as chair. Saturday, December 27, 2003
WSIS My general impression has been that WSIS (the UN/ITU sponsored event on the "Information Society") hasn't produced much of value. For the IP Justice take on WSIS, go here. Ito & Seltzer on Blogging & Privacy Joi Ito posted the following:
More on Faith-Based Prisons Check out these posts by Rick Garnett and Kyron Huigens over at Punishment Theory. Update: And more from Southern Appeal and Will Baude. Legal Theory Bookworm This week, the Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Jeremy Waldron's Law and Disagreement--a collection of 13 essays by one of the most thoughtful and interesting thinkers in the legal academy. Here is a passage that I particularly liked:
Download of the Week This week, the Download of the Week is Plea Bargaining Outside the Shadow of Trial (Harvard Law Review, June 2004) by Stephanos Bibas (University of Iowa - College of Law). Here is the abstract:
Friday, December 26, 2003
Green on Establishment of Religion in Prisons Over at Punishment Theory, Stuart Green has a nice post on establishment of religion in prisons. Four Michigan Law School Blogs I've been very impressed with Glorfindel of Gondolin, Silent Treatment, Letters of Marque, and Think Inc.. I've been slow in catching up with these law student blogs, so I hope its not too late to say "Welcome to the Blogosphere!" Birnhack and Rowbottom on Protecting Children from Harmful Material on the Internet Michael Birnhack and Jacob H. Rowbottom (University of Haifa - Faculty of Law and Independent) have posted Shielding Children: The European Way (Chicago-Kent Law Review, Vol. 79) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Bibas on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Stephanos Bibas (University of Iowa - College of Law) has posted The Psychology of Hindsight and After-the-Fact Review of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (Utah Law Review, March 2004) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
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