Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., has been called the greatest jurist and legal scholar in the history of the English-speaking world. In this collection of his speeches, opinions, and letters, Richard Posner reveals the fullness of Holmes' achievements as judge, historian, philosopher, and master of English style. Thematically arranged, the volume covers a rich variety of subjects from aging and death to themes in politics, personalities, and law. Posner's substantial introduction firmly places this wealth of material in its proper biographical and historical context. "A first-rate prose stylist, [Holmes] was perhaps the most quotable of all judges, as this ably edited volume shows."—Washington Post Book World "Brilliantly edited, lucidly organized, and equipped with a compelling introduction by Judge Posner, [this book] is one of the finest single-volume samplers of any author's work I have seen. . . . Posner has fully captured the acrid tang of him in this masterly anthology."—Terry Teachout, National Review "Excellent. . . . A worthwhile contribution to current American political/legal discussions."—Library Journal "The best source for the reader who wants a first serious acquaintance with Holmes."—Thomas C. Grey, New York Review of Books
A valuable compilation, this volume contains Holmes' most famous speeches and papers from 1885 to 1918. Its publication in 1920 was an important event in the legal community, and it was reviewed with great enthusiasm in the major journals and law reviews. Roscoe Pound offered the finest assessment in "Judge Holmes's Contributions to the Science of Law," an essay-review from 1921 that analyzed the place of these writings in the development of American law from the 1880s to the 1920: "Rereading them consecutively in their new form and remembering the dates of their original publication, one can but see that their author has done more than lead American juristic thought of the present generation. Above all others he has shaped the methods and ideas that are characteristic of the present as distinguished from the immediate past." Harvard Law Review 34 (1920-1921):449. ". . . Collected Legal Essays is a good vertical section of the mind of that judge who beyond any other of his generation has impressed his ideas on the structure and course of the law."- Learned Hand. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. [1841-1935] served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932. Known as "The Great Dissenter" on the Court because of the brilliant legal reasoning found in his written opinions, he often differed in opinion from Theodore Roosevelt, who had appointed him to the bench. As a young man he attended Harvard College, served in the American Civil War among the "Harvard Regiment" and was seriously wounded. After the war he attended, and later taught at Harvard Law School before his appointment to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Well known for his legal philosophy espoused here and in The Common Law, Holmes proposed that the law was not a science founded on abstract universal principles but a body of practices that responded to particular situations. CONTENTS Early English Equity, 1885 The Law. Speech, 1885 The Profession of the Law. Part of an Address, 1886 On Receiving the Degree of LL.D. Speech, 1886 The Use of Law Schools. Oration, 1886 Agency, 1891 Privilege, Malice and Intent, 1894 Learning and Science. Speech, 1895 Executors, 1895 The Bar as a Profession, 1896 Speech at Brown University, 1897 The Path of the Law, 1897 Legal Interpretation, 1899 Law in Science and Science in Law. Address, 1889 Speech at Bar Association Dinner, 1900 Montesquieu, 1900 John Marshall. From the Bench, February 4, 1901 Address at Northwestern University Law School, 1902 Economic Elements, 1904 Maitland, 1907 Holdsworth's English Law, 1909 Law and the Court. Speech, 1913 Introduction to Continental Legal Historical Series, 1913 Ideals and Doubts, 1915 Bracton, 1915 Natural Law, 1918
Decoded, demythed rendition of Holmes' classic study of law and judicial development of rules. "The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience." Includes 2010 Foreword; extensive, clear annotations by a Tulane law professor woven into The Common Law; footnotes with real numbers; and original page cites. Care in detail, proofreading, notes, and formatting, unlike any version made. As lamented by Holmes' premier biographer in 2006, The Common Law "is very likely the best-known book ever written about American law. But it is a difficult, sometimes obscure book, which today's lawyers and law students find largely inaccessible." No longer. With insertions and simple definitions of the original's language and concepts, this version makes it live for college students (able to "get it," at last, with legal terms explained), plus law students, lawyers, and anyone wanting to understand his great book. No previous edition, even in print, has offered annotations. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. compiled his master work in 1881 from lectures on the origins, reasoning, and import of the common law. It jump-started legal Realism and established law as a pragmatic way to solve problems and make policy, not just a bucket of rules. It has stood the test of time as one of the most important and influential studies of law. This book is interesting for a vast audience, including historians, students, and political scientists. It is also a recommended read before law school or in the 1L year. High quality, fully linked ePub edition from Quid Pro's Legal Legends Series.
In the classic essay by the brilliant Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., he delivers his interpretation on what the law ought to be versus what the law is. Holmes served on the United States Supreme Court from 1902 to 1932. "The Path of the Law" by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was originally published in the "Harvard Law Review" in 1897.
A Free Speech Chronicle and Reader - Selections from the Opinions, Books, Articles, Speeches, Letters and Other Writings by and about Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
A Free Speech Chronicle and Reader - Selections from the Opinions, Books, Articles, Speeches, Letters and Other Writings by and about Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
This is the first anthology of Oliver Wendell Holmes's writings, speeches, and opinions concerning freedom of expression. Prepared by a noted free speech scholar, the book contains eight original essays designed to situate Holmes's works in historical and biographical context. The volume is enriched by extensive commentaries concerning its many entries, which consist of letters, speeches, book excerpts, articles, state court opinions, and U.S. Supreme Court opinions.
The Common Law," a great legal classic, was written by noted Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in 1881. The book is about common law in the United states, including torts, property, contracts, and crime. The substance of "The Common Law" is a series of lectures on the various common law subjects: criminal law, property law, contracts, consideration, torts, negligence, bailments, trespass, etc. What makes this book so important is not that the lectures were a summary of the current state of the law at the time Holmes spoke in 1881, but rather because Holmes insightfully explains how they got to be that way. "The Common Law, " which offers lucid, accessible coverage, from a historical perspective, of liability, criminal law, torts, bail, possession and ownership, contracts, successions, many other aspects of civil and criminal law, is indispensable reading for lawyers, political scientists, and interested general readers. The point of reading "The Common Law" is not so much that Holmes was a great legal historian; rather, it is that he was an influential legal philosopher. Two tenets of early 20th century jurisprudence that Holmes propounded (and was influential in writing into law when he was later appointed to the Supreme Court of Massachussetts, and later of the United States) can be identified in this work: legal positivism and legal realism. Though a little tedious for non-lawyers, "The Common Law" illustrates some interesting points as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. addresses the fluid basis for our legal system.
Before he became U.S. Supreme Court justice in 1902, American jurist OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES JR. (1841-1935) was already famous as the most influential proponent for and teacher of the common law. In this collection of lectures-originally delivered at the Lowell Institute in Boston and first gathered in book form in 1881-Holmes introduces us to basic concepts of the common law and explains his reasoning of them. Discussed are: [ liability [ criminal law [ trespass and negligence [ fraud, malice, and intent [ possession and ownership [ the contract [ and much more. One of the most widely cited members of the Supreme Court, Holmes continues to dramatically impact the U.S. legal system to this day. This classic volume of his jurisprudence-reproduced here from the 1938 31st printing-is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand modern American law.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., distinguished American jurist, and Patrick Augustine Sheehan, an Irish clerical-savant, enjoyed a warm and notable friendship based largely on their exchange of letters from 1903, when they first met in Ireland, until 1913, the year of Sheehan's death. This correspondence illuminates what is otherwise a largely hidden and little appreciated side of the mind and faith of Justince Holmes. Sheehan was able to draw from his friend an awareness and s ympathy for human frailty and its counterpoint, faith in a divine plan of earthly things, thoughts and feelings that surfaced in letters to other of his friends. The importance of this edition of the Holmes-Sheehan letters rests in the first instance on this discovery. But Canon Sheehan wsa no mere foil for Holmes as they discussed with equal insight issues as varied as the economic man and the age of faith, of classical works, including Dante's Divine Comedy and Pascal's Pensees. Holmes discovered in the Canon a man of the most profound faith who remained open and tolerant of the beliefs and non-beliefs of others. He is better understood because of his affection for Sheehan, and, no less telling, because of the Canon's admiration for him. Gary J. Aichele in Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.: Soldier, Scholar, Judge finds this set of letters perhaps the most unusualof any collection of Holmes correspondence published to date.
The Common Law," a great legal classic, was written by noted Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in 1881. The book is about common law in the United states, including torts, property, contracts, and crime. The substance of "The Common Law" is a series of lectures on the various common law subjects: criminal law, property law, contracts, consideration, torts, negligence, bailments, trespass, etc. What makes this book so important is not that the lectures were a summary of the current state of the law at the time Holmes spoke in 1881, but rather because Holmes insightfully explains how they got to be that way. "The Common Law, " which offers lucid, accessible coverage, from a historical perspective, of liability, criminal law, torts, bail, possession and ownership, contracts, successions, many other aspects of civil and criminal law, is indispensable reading for lawyers, political scientists, and interested general readers. The point of reading "The Common Law" is not so much that Holmes was a great legal historian; rather, it is that he was an influential legal philosopher. Two tenets of early 20th century jurisprudence that Holmes propounded (and was influential in writing into law when he was later appointed to the Supreme Court of Massachussetts, and later of the United States) can be identified in this work: legal positivism and legal realism. Though a little tedious for non-lawyers, "The Common Law" illustrates some interesting points as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. addresses the fluid basis for our legal system.
These remarkable letters reveal Holmes to be patient, sympathetic, even indulgent of theories that, by his own admission, he did not really understand. The y bring further notice to financial analyst Franklin Ford, who was a close associate of John Dewey.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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