Seduction, Integration and Conceptual Frameworks

University of Queensland Law Journal, Vol. 29, pp. 101-131, 2010

Posted: 5 Mar 2011

See all articles by Edward L. Rubin

Edward L. Rubin

Vanderbilt University - Law School; Vanderbilt University - Department of Political Science

Abstract

One contribution to a symposium on the influence of scholarship on judges, this article argues that legal scholarship has an enormous influence on judges, but that this influence cannot be measured by direct citations of scholarly work in judicial decisions. Rather, scholarship exercises its primary influence by shaping the concepts on which judges rely. The article then illustrates this process by examining the concept of common law as it has evolved through American history. It traces the way that Blackstone, Legal Formalism, Legal Realism and now Empirical Legal Studies have shaped the way that judges think about common law, and how conceptual changes from one approach to another are reflected in changing approaches to common law and changing formulations of common law doctrine.

Keywords: Legal Scholarship, Judicial Decisionmaking, Judicial Attitudes, Judges

Suggested Citation

Rubin, Edward L., Seduction, Integration and Conceptual Frameworks. University of Queensland Law Journal, Vol. 29, pp. 101-131, 2010 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1773833

Edward L. Rubin (Contact Author)

Vanderbilt University - Law School ( email )

131 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37203-1181
United States

Vanderbilt University - Department of Political Science ( email )

VU Station B #351817
Nashville, TN 37235-1817
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Abstract Views
354
PlumX Metrics