Jurisprudence: Reason, Justice and Integrity

Course Number:
Law 437

Hours:
3

Course Type:
Upper-Level

Writing Requirement:
Rigorous Writing Experience (RWE)

Skills Requirement?:
No

Final Exam?:
No

Description:
We demand justice of our laws, but we know laws often fail to meet this demand. We also demand fidelity to law of lawyers and judges, sometimes even in the face of law's injustice, and expect lawyers to act in ways that we would condemn if done by lay people. We seek to justify these worrisome demands by appeal to notions of professionalism, the adversary system, the rule of law, and democracy. But, is it possible for lawyers to maintain their own integrity in the face of such apparent conflicts? Can law shield lawyers from responsibility for the injustice or wrongs it works in the world? Can law itself sustain its integrity and its claim of respect and allegiance when it does such wrongs? What are we to make for the notion of integrity-of lawyers and of law-in the morally compromised world in which we live and make a living? These are the core questions addressed in this course.

Prerequisites:
Willingness to reflect systematically on personal and institutional aspects of the practice of law.

Instructor(s):
G. Postema

Semester(s):
Fall