Legal Realism
Definition of Legal Realism
Note: See a more comprehensive approach to the Legal Realism legal concept in the American Law Encyclopedia
A school of jurisprudence that stresses behavioral and political factors as the most critical to judicial decision making. Legal realism minimizes the impact of abstract legal rules and principles on deciding particular cases. Leading legal realists, such as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jerome Frank, and Roscoe Pound, believed that law does not have a transcendental quality but rather is a product of social forces and the behavior of people in the legal process responding to those forces. Legal realism is, in some respects, similar to sociological jurisprudence, although realists are more inclined to view law primarily in terms of official conduct. Legal realists do not subscribe to the rules fashioned in legal precedents because law is neither that certain nor that clear. Rather, decisions are based on judges applying the “right” rules and offering a written rationale for the decision, ideally a rationale grounded on empirical bases.
See Also
Judicial Activism (Judicial Function) Jurisprudence (Judicial Function) Sociological Jurisprudence (Judicial Function).
Resources
Legal Realism Related Resources
- Legal Realism in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
- Judicial Function Keywords in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
- Judicial Function Keywords in the International Legal Dictionary
Notes
- “Legal Realism”, The American Law Dictionary, 1991, California
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