Overview

In the first part of the 20th century, a group of law scholars offered engaging, and occasionally disconcerting, views on the role of judges and the relationship between law and politics in the United States. These legal realists borrowed methods from the social sciences to carefully study the law as experienced by lawyers, judges, and average citizens and promoted a progressive vision for American law and society. Legal realism investigated the nature of legal reasoning, the purpose of law, and the role of judges. The movement asked questions which reshaped the study of jurisprudence and continue to drive lively debates about the law and politics in classrooms, courtrooms, and even the halls of Congress. This thorough analysis provides an introduction to the ideas, context, and leading personalities of legal realism. It helps situate an important movement in legal theory in the context of American politics and political thought and will be of great interest to students of judicial politics, American constitutional development, and political theory.

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9781501309212

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Reviews

The emergence, development, and ultimate fate of the legal realism school of judicial behavior is a well-explored subject. Given the exhaustive academic coverage of the realist movement, it is not easy to produce a new work that offers fresh insight and perspective on the subject. Yet Zaremby, a practicing attorney who previously taught at Yale, has done just that. The book is both a fine introduction to an important intellectual ferment, and a valuable addition to the libraries of long-standing scholars. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, research, and professional collections. -- S. B. Lichtman, Shippensburg University CHOICE [A] brilliantly balanced analysis ... This book is especially valuable in that it presents us with a streamlined and comprehensive summary of a topic which has been overlooked, yet which is of immense importance to America of today. U.S. Studies Online This is an accessible and informative book on an important subject in American law. Justin Zaremby's conversational and compelling writing style brings to life the rise and decline of legal realism. Zaremby illustrates the continuing relevance of legal realism to current debates in law and public policy. What do Langdell, Llewellyn and Lochner have to do with the onslaught of criticism that United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor faced during her Senate confirmation hearings for having earlier referred to the 'wise decisions' of 'a wise Latina' judge? Read this book to find out. Richard Albert, Assistant Professor, Boston College Law School, USA

This is an accessible and informative book on an important subject in American law. Justin Zaremby's conversational and compelling writing style brings to life the rise and decline of legal realism. Zaremby illustrates the continuing relevance of legal realism to current debates in law and public policy. What do Langdell, Llewellyn and Lochner have to do with the onslaught of criticism that United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor faced during her Senate confirmation hearings for having earlier referred to the 'wise decisions' of 'a wise Latina' judge? Read this book to find out. Richard Albert, Assistant Professor, Boston College Law School, USA The emergence, development, and ultimate fate of the legal realism school of judicial behavior is a well-explored subject. Given the exhaustive academic coverage of the realist movement, it is not easy to produce a new work that offers fresh insight and perspective on the subject. Yet Zaremby, a practicing attorney who previously taught at Yale, has done just that. The book is both a fine introduction to an important intellectual ferment, and a valuable addition to the libraries of long-standing scholars. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, research, and professional collections. -- S. B. Lichtman, Shippensburg University CHOICE

The emergence, development, and ultimate fate of the legal realism school of judicial behavior is a well-explored subject. Given the exhaustive academic coverage of the realist movement, it is not easy to produce a new work that offers fresh insight and perspective on the subject. Yet Zaremby, a practicing attorney who previously taught at Yale, has done just that. The book is both a fine introduction to an important intellectual ferment, and a valuable addition to the libraries of long-standing scholars. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, research, and professional collections. -- S. B. Lichtman, Shippensburg University * CHOICE * [A] brilliantly balanced analysis ... This book is especially valuable in that it presents us with a streamlined and comprehensive summary of a topic which has been overlooked, yet which is of immense importance to America of today. * U.S. Studies Online * This is an accessible and informative book on an important subject in American law. Justin Zaremby’s conversational and compelling writing style brings to life the rise and decline of legal realism. Zaremby illustrates the continuing relevance of legal realism to current debates in law and public policy. What do Langdell, Llewellyn and Lochner have to do with the onslaught of criticism that United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor faced during her Senate confirmation hearings for having earlier referred to the 'wise decisions' of 'a wise Latina' judge? Read this book to find out. * Richard Albert, Assistant Professor, Boston College Law School, USA *

Author Information

Justin Zaremby holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and a J.D. from Yale University, where he taught political science and the humanities. Currently a practicing lawyer, his work has been published in various journals including the Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities, Suffolk University Law Review, and Rutgers Law Review.

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