Document Type
Working Paper
Publication Date
1-9-2016
SSRN Discipline
Legal Scholarship Network; PRN Subject Matter eJournals; Philosophy Research Network; Law School Research Papers - Legal Studies; Law & Society eJournals; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; Humanities Network; Political Science Network
Abstract
Much of what passes as legal scholarship and even highlevel constitutional adjudication is taken up with normativity We grapple with such question as whether this legal rule or that would be wise just fair efficient and in accord with "our deepest values" Much of this writing is solipsistic and empty amounting to little more than cheerleading This article examines normative legal discourse from a different perspective namely its uses and finds it equally wanting in this area as well Lawyers judges and legal scholars use normative discourse to silence their adversaries brand them as scoundrels and conceal the ambiguities inherent in their own positions Sometimes ethical statements and guidelines serve to maintain a monopoly as though to proclaim "How dare anyone else dare to offer legal advice "” after all we adhere to a high code of professional responsibility How do we know that you a lay person do as well"
Recommended Citation
Richard Delgado,
Norms and Normal Science: Toward a Critique of Normativity in Legal Thought,
(2016).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.ua.edu/fac_working_papers/442