Philosophy Department

1200 Academy St. Kalamazoo, MI 49006
 
 

 THE PHILOSOPHY OF LAW

 WINTER, 1999

Professor: Chris Latiolais
202 Humphrey House
337-7076 (Office); -7043 (Secretary)
Office Hours:

   1) Mon. 9:00 - 10:00
   2) Tues. 1:00 - 3:00
   3) By Appointment.
 

TEXTS:

 1.  Joel Feinberg & Hyman Gross (eds.): Philosophy of Law (Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1995).

 2.  Andrew Altman: Arguing About Law: An Introduction to Legal Philosophy (Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1996)

 3.  (Recommended) Andrew Altman: Critical Legal Studies: A Liberal Critique (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey 1990).

 4.  (Excerpts) Juergen Habermas: Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy (The MIT Press, 1996).

COURSE GOALS:

  This course is an introduction to some basic issues in the philosophy of law.  In the first, historical part of the course, we will review the traditional schools of thought concerning the origin and justification of legal systems, from theological and natural-law theories to legal positivism, formalism and realism.  The second part of the course examines, in some detail, a contemporary challenge to the traditional idea that "the rule of law" should be impartial and objective: the so-called "Critical Legal Studies movement."  In the third, we will explore special problems in jurisprudence, such as legal paternalism, constitutional privacy, freedom of expression, and constitutional interpretation.  In the fourth, students will present their independent research of a current legal issue.
 
 

EVALUATION:

  Students will be evaluated on the basis of class participation, fidelity to an academic journal, two midterm examinations and a final paper.
 

Class Participation Seminar presentations and
discussion 30%
Midterm examinations 2 @ 15% each 30%
Biweekly Quizzes 5 at 5% each 25%
Journal Required though ungraded
Final Paper 10-12 pages 15%
 
 

POLICIES:

          Open, respectful, critical discussion is the life-blood of this course.  Journal  provides
     preparation for classroom deliberation, and the paper offers the student the opportunity to gather
     his or her Journals will be collected every three weeks.  The final paper is due on the date
     scheduled for the final examination.  3 unexcused absences will result in a full grade reduction.
 
 

INTRODUCTION:

TUE., JAN. 5TH.                                                                                                         WEEK ONE
 

PART ONE: THE NORMATIVE FOUNDATIONS OF LAW: NATURAL LAW THEORY
AND LEGAL POSITIVISM.
 

THUR., JAN. 7TH.

     1.  Norman Kretzmann: "Lex iniustia Non Est Lex: Laws on Trial in Aquinas' Court of
     Conscience."

     2.  Anthony D'Amato: "On the Connection Between Law and Justice."

     3.  Altman: "The Rule of Law"

SAT, JAN. 9TH.  Movie: The Trial at Nurenberg.

A.  THE HART-FULLER DEBATE:

TUES., JAN. 12TH.                                                                                                                     WEEK TWO
     1.  John Austin: A Positivist Conception of Law, from The Province of Jurisprudence Determined(1832).

     2.  H.L.A. Hart: A More Recent Positivist Conception of Law, from The Concept of Law (1961).

     3.  H.L.A Hart: "Positivism and the Separation of Law and Morals." (1958).

THURS., JAN. 14TH.

     1.  Lon L. Fuller: "Positivism and Fidelity to Law -- A Reply to Professor Hart" (1958).

     2.  Lon L. Fuller: Eight Ways to Fail to Make Law, from The Morality of Law (1964).

     3.  Joel Feinberg: "The Dilemmas of Judges Who Must Interpret 'Immoral Laws'" (1995).

     4.  Altman: "Law and Morality"

     5.  Quiz #1.
 

B.  CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE: MUST LAWS BE MORAL?

TUE., JAN. 19TH                                                                                                                                   WEEK THREE

     1.  Martin Luther King, Jr.: Letter from Birmingham Jail, from Why We Can't Wait (1963).

     2.  Review & Exam preparation.
 

THURS., JAN. 21ST.

     1.  Midterm examination #1.

C.  THE "THIRD THEORY OF LAW": DWORKIN'S REASSERTION OF THE CONNECTION BETWEEN
MORALITY AND LAW.

TUE., JAN. 26TH.                             WEEK FOUR

     1.  Ronald M. Dworkin: "The Model of Rules" (1967).

     2.  Riggs v. Palmer -- Court of Appeals on New York 1889.

     3.  Ronald M. Dworkin: "Natural Law Revisited" (1982).

     4.  J. L. Mackie: "The Third Theory of Law" (1977).

THURS., JAN. 28TH.

     1.  "Third Theory" (Cont.).

     2.  Quiz # 2.
 

D.  LEGAL REALISM, RATIONAL DECISION THEORY AND FEMINIST JURISPRUDENCE:
 

TUE., FEB. 2ND                                                                                                                            WEEK FIVE

     1.  O. W. Holmes, Jr.: "The Path of the Law" (1897).

     2.  Jerome Frank: Legal Realism, from Law and the Modern Mind (1963).

     3.  Altman: "Law and Economics" (Altman, pp. 149-177).

     4.  Quiz #3.
 
 
 

THURS., FEB 4TH.

     1.  Kim Lane Scheppele: "The Reasonable Woman" (1991).

     2.  State v. Rusk -- Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1981.

     3.  Regina v. Morgan -- House of Lords, 1976.

     4.  State v. Kelly -- Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1984.

     5.  Larry May and John C. Hughes: Is Sexual Harassment Coercive?, from Moral Rights and the
     Workplace (1987).

     6.  Ellen Frankel Paul: "Bared Buttocks and Federal Cases" (1991).

     7.  Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County -- United States Supreme Court, 1981.

     8.  Altman: "Feminism and the Law" (Altman, pp. 178-217).
 
 

E.  THE CHALLENGE OF CRITICAL LEGAL STUDIES:
 

TUES., FEB. 9TH.                                                                                                                                          WEEK SIX

     1.  Andrew Altman: "Legal Realism, Critical Legal Studies, and Dworkin" (1986).

     2.  Altman: "Critical Legal Studies" (Altman, pp. 217-244).

     3.  Andrew Altman: "Critical Legal Studies v. Liberalism" & "Liberalism and Legality" (Chapters
     One and Two of CLS). [Recommended]

THURS., FEB. 11TH.

     1.  Critical Legal Studies (Cont.).

     2.  Andrew Altman: "The Possibility of the Liberal Rule of Law" (Chapter Three of CLS)
     [Recommended].

     3.  Andrew Altman: "The Contradictions of Law" (Chapter Four of CLS) [Recommended].
 

     4.  Andrew Altman: "Law and Social Reality" (Final Chapter of CLS) [Recommended].

     5.  Midterm Examination #2.

PART 2: THE CONSTITUTIONAL-DEMOCRATIC FOUNDATIONS OF LAW: THE GAP
BETWEEN MORAL SELF-DETERMINATION AND POLITICAL LEGITIMACY.

TUES., FEB. 16TH.                                                                                                                         WEEK SEVEN

A.  CIVIL LIBERTIES AND THE SCOPE OF LAW:

     1.  John Stuart Mill: The Liberal Argument, from On Liberty (1859).

     2.  Gerald Dworkin: "Paternalism, from Morality and the Law (1971).

     3.  Gerald Dworkin: Paternalism: Some Second Thoughts, from Paternalism (1983).

     4.  Patrick Devlin: Morals and the Criminal Law, form The Enforcement of Morals (1965).

     5.  Patrick Devlin: Morals and Contemporary Social Reality, from The Enforcement of Morals(1965).

THURS., FEB. 18TH.

     1.  Civil Liberties (Cont.).
 

B.  CONSTITUTIONAL PRIVACY:

TUES., FEB. 23RD.                                                                                                                             WEEK EIGHT

     1.  Griswold v. Connecticut -- United Sates Supreme Court, 1965.

     2.  Roe v. Wade: United States Supreme Court, 1973.

     3.  Planned Parenthood of S.E. Pennsylvanian v. Casey -- United Sates Supreme Court, 1992.

     4.  Bowers v. Hardwick -- United States Supreme Court, 1986.

     5.  Altman: "The Constitution" (Altman, pp. 61-89).
 

THURS., FEB. 25TH.

     1.  Constitutional Privacy (Cont.).

     2.  Quiz #4.
 

C.  FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND ITS LIMITS:

TUES., MARCH 2ND.                                                                                                                             WEEK NINE

     1.  Joel Feinberg: "Limits to the Free Expression of Opinion."

     2.  Cohen v. California -- United States Supreme Court 1971.

     3.  Village of Skokie v. National Socialist Party of America -- Supreme Court of Illinois, 1978.

     4.  Texas v. Johnson -- United States Supreme Court, 1989.

     5.  Thomas C. Grey: "Civil Rights Versus Civil Liberties: The Case of Discriminatory Verbal
     Harassment.

     6.  Quiz # 5.

THURS., MARCH 4TH.
     1.  Freedom of Expression (Continued).

     2.  Quiz #5.
 

TUES., MARCH 9TH.                                                                                                                     WEEK TEN

     1.  Review.

THURS., MARCH 11TH.

     1.  Student Evaluations.
 

FINALS WEEK