Chapter 6 Self-test questions

. American realists argued that formalism devalued the authority of the judge to make law, because:

Judicial decisions are less important than legislation.

Formalism treats legal reasoning as syllogistic reasoning.

Judges generally base their decisions on formal logic.

The structure of legal reasoning is flawed.

. Which of the following criticisms of Llewellyn's distinction between the grand and formal styles of legal reasoning is the most compelling?

There is no distinction between the two forms of legal reasoning.

Judges are appointed to interpret the law, not to make it.

It is misleading to pigeon-hole judges in this way.

Judicial reasoning is always formal.

. Hart dismissed American realism as 'the claim that talk of rules is a myth, cloaking the truth that law consists simply of the decisions of courts and predictions of them.' What is the strongest reason for regarding this remark as unfair?

Because American realism was not concerned with the predictions of what courts will do but more interested in the rights and duties of parties involved in litigation.

Because American realists were preoccupied with the concept of justice and its application in American courts.

Because the American realists exposed the limitations of a doctrinal account of law without a proper empirical investigation of the way it functions thereby paving the way to a sociological approach to law.

Because the principal focus of the American realist 'school' was legal education.

. Why do the Scandinavian realists reject a metaphysical approach to law?

Because they regard empiricism as a more reliable method by which to understand the concept of law.

Because they have no interest in the operation of the legal system.

Because their approach is based on Bentham's sceptical account of the common law.

Because they prefer a natural law analysis of legal ideas.

. Which of the following statements most accurately explains Ross' comparison of social life to the game of chess?

Chess is a game of skill; success in life is also a matter of skill.

Winning a game of chess, like life, frequently depends on luck.

In both games of chess and social life, there is effectively a dispute or contest.

Social life is similar to chess because individual actions are often related to a common idea of rules.

. Which proposition below is the most powerful refutation of Olivecrona's psychological explanation of law?

Coercion plays no part in our decision to obey the law.

He provides no empirical evidence in support of his thesis.

His argument is itself metaphysical.

He neglects the relation between morality and legal duty.

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