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Tables of Contents for Reason in Law
Chapter/Section Title
Page #
Page Count
Preface
xi
2
About the Author
xiii
 
1 WHAT LEGAL REASONING IS, AND WHY IT MATTERS
1
20
An Overview of Law and Politics
1
2
A Definition of Law
3
3
A Definition of Legal Reasoning
6
5
Three Ways to Classify Law
11
4
Formal Categories of Official Legal Texts
11
1
The Problems That Law Addresses
12
1
The Choices That Legal Reasoning Creates
13
2
Illustrative Case
15
4
Questions About the Case
19
1
For Further Thought
19
2
2 CHANGE AND STABILITY IN LEGAL REASONING
21
16
Unpredictability in Law
22
5
Reasoning from Words
22
1
Reasoning from Examples of Precedents
23
4
Stage One: Reasoning by Example in General
24
1
Stage Two: Examples in Law
24
1
Stage Three: The Three-Step Process of Reasoning by Example
25
1
Stage Four: How Reasoning by Example Perpetuates Unpredictability in Law
25
1
Stage Five: An Illustration of Unpredictability in Law
26
1
Stage Six: Reasoning by Example Facilitates Legal Change
27
1
Is Unpredictability in Law Desirable?
27
1
The Other Side of the Coin: Stare Decisis as a Stabilizing and Clarifying Element in Law
28
3
Illustrative Cases
31
3
Questions About the Cases
34
1
For Further Thought
35
2
3 STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
37
41
What Are Statutes?
37
2
Three Ways Judges Mistakenly Interpret Statutes
39
8
First Mistake: Sticking to the Literal Meaning of Words
39
2
Second Mistake: The Golden Rule
41
2
Third Mistake: Legislative Intent and Legislative History Idle Armchair Speculation
43
4
Other Words in the Statute
44
1
The Expressed Intent of Individual Legislators and Committee Reports
45
1
Other Actions, Events, and Decisions in the Legislature
45
2
Words, Intent, and History Do Not Reach "Correct" Interpretations
47
8
The Disorderly Conduct of Words
48
1
The Booming Canons of Statutory Construction
49
3
Judicial Naivete about the Legislative Process
52
3
How Judges Should Interpret Statutes in the First Instance
55
8
The Centrality of Statutory Purpose
56
1
Determining Purpose: Words Can Help
57
1
Determining Purpose: The Audience
58
1
Determining Purpose: The Assumption of Legislative Rationality and the Uses of Legislative History
59
1
Illustrations of Statutory Purpose
59
3
Three Easy Cases
59
1
The Case of the Lady Jurors, or Why Legislative Intent Does Not Necessarily Determine Statutory Purpose
60
1
Statutory Purpose in the Cases of Criminal Commerce: Caminetti, McBoyle, and Alpers
60
2
A Final Complication
62
1
Stare Decisis in Statutory Interpretation
63
10
Major League Baseball, Haviland's Dog and Pony Show, and Government Regulation of Business
64
6
The Case Against Increased Adherence to Precedent in Statutory Interpretation
70
3
A Summary Statement of the Appropriate Judicial Approach to Statutory Interpretation
73
1
Illustrative Case
74
1
Questions About the Case
75
1
For Further Thought
76
2
4 COMMON LAW
78
41
Origins of Common Law
78
4
Reasoning By Example in Common Law
82
12
The Cherry Tree
84
4
The Pit
88
1
The Diving Board
89
2
Analyzing Cases
91
1
Changing Judicial Styles
92
1
Change in Law Itself
92
2
Keeping the Common Law Tradition Alive
94
11
Making Common Law Without Close Precedents
95
3
Horizontal Stare Decisis in Common Law
98
7
Rightly Adhering to Precedent Because the Need for Stability and Reliance Is Present
99
3
Wrongly Adhering to Precedent When Stability Is Unnecessary
102
3
The Common Law Tradition Today
105
8
Illustrative Case
113
3
Questions About the Case
116
1
For Further Thought
116
3
5 INTERPRETING THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
119
27
"The Supreme Law of the Land"
120
3
Conventional Legal Reasoning in Constitutional Interpretation
123
4
Words as Channels of Meaning
123
2
The Intent of the Framers and the Purpose of Constitutional Provisions
125
2
Stare Decisis
127
1
Two Alternative Approaches to Constitutional Reasoning
127
8
Theories About Constitutional Justification
128
3
Political Constraints on the Court
131
4
Illustrative Case
135
5
Questions About the Case
140
1
For Further Thought
141
5
6 LAW AND POLITICS
146
35
Legal Reasoning as Liberal Justification
147
9
A Recap
147
1
Impartiality and Trust
147
1
Impartial Judgment
148
4
What Evidence Supports This Theory of Impartiality
152
2
Applying the Theory
154
2
Legal Reasoning as a Public Language
156
18
Law and Moralistic Communities: The Mann Act Revisited
158
3
Law in Conditions of Diversity: Emerging Issues of Gay Rights
161
13
Conclusion
174
1
Illustrative Case
175
3
For Further Thought
178
3
APPENDIX: INTRODUCTION TO LEGAL PROCEDURE AND TERMINOLOGY
181
6
The Case
181
1
Legal Terms
182
5
Credits
187
2
Index
189
4
Index of Cases
193