•  51
    Critical legal studies (edited book)
    Rowman & Littlefield. 1989.
    The critical legal studies movement involves a group of scholars who have political views ranging from disaffected liberalism to committed marxism to utopian anarchism. This movement in the field of jurisprudence has arisen aver the past ten years and hopes to influence a radical change in what they view as liberal orthodox legal theory. Topics of discussion include the intellectual foundations of the CLS movement, its principles and aims, its critique of the legal doctrine and ideas for change.
  •  31
    Democracy and Constitutional Change
    with Joel Colón-Ríos
    Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory 58 (127): 43-62. 2011.
    The relationship between democracy and constitutions is a long and fractious one. Those who lean towards the constitutionalist side have tended to perceive democracy as a threat to political order and the preservation of important values, whereas those who take a more democratist stance tend to treat constitutions as elite hindrances to popular rule as much as anything else. In this paper, we will give the constitutionalist thesis a broader theoretical and political scrutiny. By way of explanati…Read more
  •  26
    The rule of law: Ideal or ideology (edited book)
    with Patrick Monahan
    Transnational. 1987.
    "... essays [from] a conference held at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, in April 1984" -- Pref.
  •  24
    It is 50 years since Stephen Wexler’s essay, Practicing Law for Poor People, was published.1 By any reasonable measure, this has become and remains an iconic piece. Whether he is agreed with or dis...
  •  17
    Razzle-Dazzle
    Jurisprudence 1 (1): 39-61. 2010.
    As their title suggests, "legal philosophers" are more philosophers than lawyers; they are in the business of thinking generally about law rather than doing law in any practical way. While lawyers tend to be jurisdiction-specific in their affiliations and competence, legal philosophers are under no such restriction. At their most ambitious, legal philosophers claim dominion over a jurisprudential realm that is delineated by neither geography nor history. Indeed, presenting themselves as intellec…Read more
  •  15
    Great cases are those judicial decisions around which the common law develops. This book explores eight exemplary cases from the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia that show the law as a living, breathing and down-the-street experience. It explores the social circumstances in which the cases arose and the ordinary people whose stories influenced and shaped the law as well as the characters and institutions that did much of the heavy lifting. By examining the consequences and fallout…Read more
  •  11
    Chewing Cud: Revisiting Hart and Jurisprudence
    Jurisprudence 5 (1): 29-40. 2014.
    The recent publication of a lost essay by Herbert Hart is important for an historical appreciation of his work, but its likely celebration is a sad testament to the poverty and lethargy of contemporary legal thought. I use this occasion to review the state and condition of contemporary legal theorising. After positioning Hart's essay in the prevailing jurisprudential milieu, I highlight the thrust and the failings of the three main traditional approaches to contemporary legal theorising in regar…Read more
  •  11
    The Province of Jurisprudence Democratized
    Oxford University Press. 2008.
    The province of jurisprudence compromised -- The province of jurisprudence revisited -- The provinciality of jurisprudence determined -- The morality of jurisprudence determined -- The province of jurisprudence pre-determined -- The province of jurisprudence moralised -- The province of jurisprudence re-generated -- The province of the judiciary democratised -- The experimental province of democracy determined.
  •  5
    The Province of Jurisprudence Democratized
    Oxford University Press USA. 2009.
    The Province of Jurisprudence Democratized explores the implications of taking a vigorously democratic approach to issues of traditional legal theory. Allan C. Hutchinson introduces the democratic vision and examines the complementary philosophy of a Dewey-inspired pragmatism. This is followed by an examination from a pragmatic perspective of the dominant theories of analytical jurisprudence in both their positivist and naturalist forms. He emphasizes the contested concepts of 'truth', 'facts' a…Read more
  •  4
    Toward an Informal Account of Legal Interpretation
    Cambridge University Press. 2016.
    Toward an Informal Account of Legal Interpretation offers a viable account of law, judicial decision-making, and legal interpretation that is as fresh as it is familiar. The author expertly challenges the dominant mode of formalist theorizing and proposes an explanatory account of legal interpretation that can profitably be understood as an 'informal' intervention. Such an informal approach has no truck with either the claims of the formalists or those of the anti-formalists. Hutchinson insists …Read more
  •  3
    Law, Life, and Lore: It's Too Late to Stop Now
    Cambridge University Press. 2017.
    Law is best interpreted in the context of the traditions and cultures that have shaped its development, implementation, and acceptance. However, these can never be assessed truly objectively: individual interpreters of legal theory need to reflect on how their own experiences create the framework within which they understand legal concepts. Theory is not separate from practice, but one kind of practice. It is rooted in the world, even if it is not grounded by it. In this highly original volume, …Read more
  •  3
    Any effort to understand how law works has to take seriously its main players – judges. Like any performance, judging should be evaluated by reference to those who are its best exponents. Not surprisingly, the debate about what makes a 'great judge' is as heated and inconclusive as the debate about the purpose and nature of law itself. History shows that those who are candidates for a judicial hall of fame are game changers who oblige us to rethink what it is to be a good judge. So the best of j…Read more
  •  3
    Democracy and Constitutional Change
    with Joel Colón-ríos
    Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory 58 43-62. 2011.
    The relationship between democracy and constitutions is a long and fractious one. Those who lean towards the constitutionalist side have tended to perceive democracy as a threat to political order and the preservation of important values, whereas those who take a more democratist stance tend to treat constitutions as elite hindrances to popular rule as much as anything else. In this paper, we will give the constitutionalist thesis a broader theoretical and political scrutiny. By way of explanati…Read more
  •  2
    Fighting fair: legal ethics for an adversarial age
    Cambridge University Press. 2015.
    An opening salvo -- The professional project -- A theoretical excursion -- The standard model -- Taking war ethically -- In the name of just ends -- Fighting fair -- Toward a just peace -- Not-so-final thoughts.
  •  2
    Law and the Community: The End of Individualism?
    with Leslie Green
    Carswell Legal Publications. 1989.
    Based on a conference held at Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, 24-25 March, 1988.
  • Evolution and the Common Law
    Cambridge University Press. 2005.
    This book offers a radical challenge to accounts of the common law's development. Contrary to received jurisprudential wisdom, it maintains there is no grand theory which will explain satisfactorily the dynamic interactions of change and stability in the common law's history. Offering original readings of Charles Darwin's and Hans-Georg Gadamer's works, the book shows that law is a rhetorical activity that can only be properly appreciated in its historical and political context; tradition and tr…Read more
  • DIVThe author argues for an understanding of judging that rejects foundationalism (the effort to ground legal thought on something), attempts to carve out a "middle way" between formalist and the political visions of law, and offers a reconceptual/div.
  • Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility
    Concord, Ont. : Irwin Law. 1999.
    Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility (Essentials of Canadian Law S.)