Synopses & Reviews
Originally published in 1949,
An Introduction to Legal Reasoning is widely acknowledged as a classic text. As its opening sentence states, “This is an attempt to describe generally the process of legal reasoning in the field of case law and in the interpretation of statutes and of the Constitution.” In elegant and lucid prose, Edward H. Levi does just that in a concise manner, providing an intellectual foundation for generations of students as well as general readers.
For this edition, the book includes a substantial new foreword by leading contemporary legal scholar Frederick Schauer that helpfully places this foundational book into its historical and legal contexts, explaining its continuing value and relevance to understanding the role of analogical reasoning in the law. This volume will continue to be of great value to students of logic, ethics, and political philosophy, as well as to members of the legal profession and everyone concerned with problems of government and jurisprudence.
Review
“A first rate contribution to jurisprudence.”
Judge Charles E. Wyzanski, Jr.
Review
“Edward H. Levi’s book promises a more real realism and augurs well for the science of law.”
Review
“Few volumes of such small bulk contain so much matter for thought.”
Review
"A splendid job, one which soreley needed doing."
Judge Jerome N. Frank
Review
“
An Introduction to Legal Reasoning was when published an important contribution to the distinctively American view of legal argument, legal reasoning, legal decision making, and legal thought. It remains so to this day, and by no means solely for historical reasons.”
Review
“Reason in Law is a superbly written, pedagogically rich, historically and conceptually informed introduction to legal reasoning. . . . The student becomes aware through analyses of illustrative cases that legal reasoning requires judges and lawyers to analyze the facts in a case in light of legal rules, precedents, wider social reality, and normative values which are brought to the specific case. . . . . Rigorous and complex in its discussion of concepts, . . . this may well be the very best introductory text.”
Synopsis
First published in 1979, Reason in Law has become not only a classic textbook used by generations of students, but a classic work about the intersection of law and politics that has been cited by judges and scholars alike. Legal reasoning, according to Carter and Burke, combines four elements: the facts established at trial (evidence); the rules that bear on a case (the laws themselves); social background facts (e.g., what “standard practices” might be in a certain area); and widely held social and moral values. How well or badly a judge “harmonizes” or fits together these four elements in her decision determines whether or not it is seen and accepted as a good or well-reasoned decision. Based upon how judges interpret each of the elements and then join them together, it is eminently possible for two judges to reach starkly different conclusions even though both may be well-reasoned. The goal of Reason in Law is to give its readers the tools to differentiate between good and bad legal reasoning, and the authors provide plenty of up-to-date examples of both. New to this ninth edition are treatments of the monumental legal struggle over the constitutionality and proper interpretation of the Affordable Care Act, the legal struggles surrounding gay and lesbian marriage, the killing of Trayvon Martin, the Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act, and many other cases.
About the Author
Lief Carter is professor emeritus of political science at Colorado College. In addition to the previous eight editions of Reason in Law, he is the author of several books, including Administrative Law and Politics.Thomas F. Burke is professor of political science at Wellesley College and a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author or coauthor of three books, most recently How Policy Shapes Politics.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Sanford Levinson
Preface
Chapter 1: What Legal Reasoning Is and Why It Matters
Chapter 2: Change and Stability in Legal Reasoning
Chapter 3: Common Law
Chapter 4: Statutory Interpretation
Chapter 5: Interpreting the U.S. Constitution
Chapter 6: Law and Politics
Appendix A: Introduction to Legal Procedures and Terminology
Appendix B: A Theory of Law in Politics: The Case of Terri Schiavo
Index