Jurisprudence

Tutorial One

1. Introduction. Who I am: www.nailahrobinson.com

2. Icebreaker exercise: Divide into two groups. Outside is the UWI Eldercare Recreational Park. There is a sign: No vehicles allowed in the park. One group has as client a little old lady who wants her grandson to ride his bicycle in the park. The other has as client a little old lady who does not want to see bicycles in the park. Is a bicycle a vehicle? Debate.

3. What is the student’s best friend? The internet. Google & Wikipedia! Eg: http://www.legaltutors.com/sample_icls_lecture.htm is a one hour lecture on Hart, while http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/current_students/programme_resources/laws/exam_reps_08/jurisprudence_za.pdf, andhttp://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/current_students/programme_resources/laws/llb_diplaw/exam_reps_papers_10.shtml show examiners’ remarks about London’s Jurisprudence Exam.

4. What is Jurisprudence? The Philosophy of Law. You have to know the major schools and major players, know their theories, and be able to evaluate these theories, in your own words, using, in large part, criticisms from other major players. This is a huge subject and your knowledge must be both broad and deep. Don’t drown! Try to keep the big picture in mind.

5. There are four main schools of jurisprudence thought:

1. Formalism – law is a science like the science of gravity and can be reduced to principles: Dworki
2. Positivism – law is separate from morality, and anything that is enacted by the sovereign is the proper law: Classic positivism – Bentham & Austin, Modern positivism – Kelsen & Hart
3. Natural law – law cannot be separated from morality: Aquinas & Finnis
4. Realism – judges are only human and decide law based on factors such as their politics, economic status, psychology and what they had for breakfast! Llewellyn & Frank. There are two offshoots of this movement:
   1. Sociological Jurisprudence which uses statistics to try to understand how the legal system really works (eg analyzing jury decisions and such things as how likely individual Appeal judges are likely to overrule precedents), and
   2. The Critical Legal Studies movement which has applied the skeptical insights of the Realists to attack courts for rendering decisions based on racial, sexist, and homophobic prejudices.

6.There is a sign on the blackboard:

   On entering classroom, please:
    1.Remove shoes
    2.Remove shirt
    3.Slap girl in front of you
    4.Shake neighbour’s hand
Queen Nailah
 
Why did you students not obey the sign? Was it because you do not recognize it as a law? Are you saying you do not recognize me as a sovereign? Or was it because there was no sanction? Did you refuse to obey because it was not moral? Or because it was not sensible? :)