Common Law Judging and the Great Tradition (Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice, 100)

Many other books also wrestle with the question this book explores: How do judges decide cases in the American common law?But this is no ordinary law book. The rules of the common law are grounded in precedent, and yet the disturbing truth is that competing precedents often allow judges to choose from among two or more solutions.So if the rules alone do not decide the cases, which factors prove decisive?This book takes seriously the fact that we do not actually know the answer to that question.Another surprise is that this uncomfortable insight is a staple of the great tradition of common law writing-from the classic works by Blackstone, Holmes, and Cardozo to the innovative thinking of Duncan Kennedy, Mary Joe Frug, and Patricia Williams.This book moves beyond the usual debates and demonstrates for the first time that these differing accounts can work together to offer a meaningful approach to the challenge of judging. They all suggest that judges should consider the entirety of the f