Justice And Injustice In Law And Legal Theory (the Amherst Series In Law, Jurisprudence, And Social Thought)

Running throughout the history of jurisprudence and legal theory is a recurring concern about the connections between law and justice and about the ways law is implicated in injustice. Commentators from Plato l to Derrida 2 have called law to account in the name of justice, asked that law provide a language of justice, and demanded that it promote, insofar as possible, the attainment of a just society. They have done so, however, in relentlessly abstract and general language, as if the demands of justice could only be apprehended accurately outside of history and context, and as if only philosophers were fit to engage in conversation about justice. The justice that is spoken about is, as a result, elusive, if not illusory, and disconnected from the embodied practices of law. The essays collected in Justice and Injustice in Law and Legal Theory seek to remedy this situation by embedding inquiry about justice in an examination of law's daily practices, its institutional arrangements, and its engagement with particular issues at particular moments in time. 3 Running Through The History Of Jurisprudence And Legal Theory Is A Recurring Concern About The Connections Between Law And Justice And About The Ways Law Is Implicated In Injustice. In Earlier Times Law And Justice Were Viewed As Virtually Synonymous. However, Experience Has Taught Us That Injustice May In Fact Be Supported By Law. Nonetheless, The Belief Remains That Justice Is The Special Concern Of Law. Commentators From Plato To Derrida Have Called Law To Account In The Name Of Justice, Asked That Law Provide A Language Of Justice, And Demanded That It Promote The Attainment Of Justice. They Have Done So In Abstract Language As If The Demands Of Justice Could Only Be Apprehended Accurately Outside Of History And Context. The Justice That Is Usually Spoken About Is Elusive, If Not Illusory, And Disconnected From The Embodied Practice Of Law.--book Jacket. Furthermore, The Very Meaning Of Justice, Especially As It Relates To Law, Is In Dispute.^ Justice May Refer To Distributional Issues Or It May Involve Primarily Procedural Questions, Impartiality In Judgment, Or Punishment And Recompense. The Considerable Disagreement Over The Meaning Of Justice Suggests To Some That We Lack A Full And Coherent Account Of Justice. This Uncertainty Does Not Mean That Justice Necessarily Should Be Jettisoned From Legal Discourse. Rather, We Are Reminded Of The Vastness Of The Relationship Of Law And Justice, Of The Difficulty Of Constructing A Single Account Capable Of Holding Together Its Many Strands, And Of The Space That Exists To Theorize Anew About Justice And Injustice In Law And Legal Theory.--book Jacket.^ The Essays Collected In Justice And Injustice In Law And Legal Theory Seek To Remedy This Uncertainty About The Meaning Of Justice And Its Disembodied Quality By Embedding Inquiry About Justice In An Examination Of Law's Daily Practices, Its Institutional Arrangements, And Its Engagement With Particular Issues At Particular Moments In Time. The Essays Examine The Relationship Between Law And Justice And Injustice In Specific Issues And Practices And, In Doing So, Make The Question Of Justice Come Alive As A Concrete Political Question. They Draw On The Disciplines Of History, Law, Anthropology, And Political Science.--book Jacket. Legal Justice And Injustice : Toward A Situated Perspective / Thomas R. Kearns And Austin Sarat -- The Injustice Of Policing : Prehistory And Rectitude / Michael Taussig -- Undoing Historical Injustice / Robert W. Gordon -- Justice For All? Marriage, And Deprivation Of Citizenship In The United States / Nancy F. Cott -- Freedom, Equality, Pornography / Joshua Cohen -- Judicial Supremacy, The Concept Of Law, And The Sanctity Of Life / Frank I. Michelman. Edited By Austin Sarat And Thomas R. Kearns. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Explores the relationship between law and justice | Running through the history of jurisprudence and legal theory is a recurring concern about the connections between law and justice and about the ways law is implicated in injustice. In earlier times law and justice were viewed as virtually synonymous. Experience, however, has taught us that, in fact, injustice may be supported by law. Nonetheless, the belief remains that justice is the special concern of law. Commentators from Plato to Derrida have called law to account in the name of justice, asked that law provide a language of justice, and demanded that it promote the attainment of justice. The justice that is usually spoken about in these commentaries is elusive, if not illusory, and disconnected from the embodied practice of law. Furthermore, the very meaning of justice, especially as it relates to law, is in dispute. Justice may refer to distributional issues or it may involve primarily procedural questions, impartiality in judgment or punishment and recompense. The essays collected in Justice and Injustice in Law and Legal Theory seek to remedy this uncertainty about the meaning of justice and its disembodied quality, by embedding inquiry about justice in an examination of law's daily practices, its institutional arrangements, and its engagement with particular issues at particular moments in time. The essays examine the relationship between law and justice and injustice in specific issues and practices and, in doing so, make the question of justice come alive as a concrete political question. They draw on the disciplines of history, law, anthropology, and political science. Contributors to this volume include Nancy Coot, Joshua Coven, Robert Gorton, Frank Michelin, and Michael Tossing. Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College. Thomas R. Kearns is William H. Hastie Professor of Philosophy, Amherst College. Contents Legal Justice and Injustice: Toward a Situated Perspective The Injustice of Policing: Prehistory and Rectitude Undoing Historical Injustice Justice for All? Marriage and Deprivation of Citizenship in the United States Freedom, Equality, Pornography Judicial Supremacy, the Concept of Law, and the Sanctity of Life Contributors Index SARAT, A. / T. R. KEARNS, JUSTICE AND INJUSTICE IN LAW AND LEGAL THEORY [HARDBACK]. ANN ARBOR, MI, 1996, 173 p. Encuadernacion original. Nuevo.