Dennis Szilak's List: Theories of Law

•   Answers to  these questions   come from four primary schools of thought  in     general   jurisprudence:  ^[2]

   
   
  •   Natural  law     is     the idea  that there are   rational objective limits to the power of  legislative     rulers.  The foundations of   law are accessible through human reason and it  is     from  these laws of nature   that human created laws gain whatever force  they     have.  ^[2]
   
  •   Legal   Positivism    , by  contrast to   natural     law,  holds that there is no   necessary connection between law and morality  and     that the  force of law comes   from some basic social facts although  positivists     differ on  what those facts   are.  ^[3]
   
  •   Legal  Realism     is a  third theory of     jurisprudence which argues   that the  real world practice of law is what     determines what law is; the   law has  the force that it does because of what     legislators, judges, and   executives do with it. Similar approaches have  been     developed  in many different   ways in     Sociology  of   law    .  
   
  •   Critical  Legal   Studies     is a  younger     theory of  jurisprudence that   has developed since the 1970s which is primarily  a     negative  thesis that the law   is largely contradictory and can be best  analyzed     as an  expression of the   policy goals of the dominant social  group.  ^[4]
   

   Also of note is the work of the contemporary  Philosopher of Law   Ronald Dworkin   who  has   advocated a constructivist theory of  jurisprudence that can be characterized as   a middle  path between natural law theories and positivist theories of general    jurisprudence. ^[5]

• Answers to these questions come from four primary schools of thought in  general jurisprudence:^[2]

   
   
  • Natural law is  the idea that there are rational objective limits to the power of legislative  rulers. The foundations of law are accessible through human reason and it is  from these laws of nature that human created laws gain whatever force they  have.^[2]
   
  • Legal Positivism, by contrast to natural  law, holds that there is no necessary connection between law and morality and  that the force of law comes from some basic social facts although positivists  differ on what those facts are.^[3]
   
  • Legal Realism is a third theory of  jurisprudence which argues that the real world practice of law is what  determines what law is; the law has the force that it does because of what  legislators, judges, and executives do with it. Similar approaches have been  developed in many different ways in Sociology of law.
   
  • Critical Legal Studies is a younger  theory of jurisprudence that has developed since the 1970s which is primarily a  negative thesis that the law is largely contradictory and can be best analyzed  as an expression of the policy goals of the dominant social group.^[4]

•  Answers to these questions  come from four primary schools of thought in   general  jurisprudence: ^[2]

   
   
  •  Natural law    is   the idea that there are  rational objective limits to the power of legislative   rulers. The foundations of  law are accessible through human reason and it is   from these laws of nature  that human created laws gain whatever force they   have. ^[2]
   
  •  Legal  Positivism  , by contrast to  natural   law, holds that there is no  necessary connection between law and morality and   that the force of law comes  from some basic social facts although positivists   differ on what those facts  are. ^[3]
   
  •  Legal Realism    is a third theory of    jurisprudence which argues  that the real world practice of law is what   determines what law is; the  law has the force that it does because of what   legislators, judges, and  executives do with it. Similar approaches have been   developed in many different  ways in   Sociology of  law  . 
   
  •  Critical Legal  Studies   is a younger   theory of jurisprudence that  has developed since the 1970s which is primarily a   negative thesis that the law  is largely contradictory and can be best analyzed   as an expression of the  policy goals of the dominant social group. ^[4]
   

  Also of note is the work of the contemporary Philosopher of Law Ronald Dworkin who has  advocated a constructivist theory of jurisprudence that can be characterized as  a middle path between natural law theories and positivist theories of general  jurisprudence.^[5]

•    Answers  to   these questions     come from  four primary schools of thought   in       general     jurisprudence:   ^[2]

   
   
  •    Natural   law       is       the  idea   that there are     rational  objective limits to the power of   legislative       rulers.   The  foundations of     law are accessible through human reason and  it   is       from   these  laws of nature     that human created laws gain whatever  force   they       have.   ^[2]
   
  •    Legal     Positivism      ,  by   contrast to     natural       law,   holds  that there is no     necessary connection between law and  morality   and       that  the   force of law comes     from some  basic social facts although   positivists       differ  on   what those facts     are.   ^[3]
   
  •    Legal   Realism       is  a   third theory of       jurisprudence which argues      that the   real  world practice of law is what       determines what law is; the      law has   the force  that it does because of what       legislators, judges, and     executives do with it. Similar approaches  have   been       developed   in many  different     ways in       Sociology   of     law      .   
   
  •    Critical   Legal     Studies       is  a   younger       theory  of   jurisprudence that     has  developed since the 1970s which is prim a rily  a      negative   thesis  that the law     is largely contradictory and can be best    analyzed       as  an   expression of the     policy  goals of the dominant social   group.   ^[4]
• Main article: Thomas Aquinas

   

  Saint Thomas Aquinas [Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino] (c. 1225 – 7 March 1274)  was a philosopher and theologian in the scholastic tradition, known as "Doctor Angelicus,  Doctor Universalis". He is the foremost classical proponent of natural theology, and  the father of the Thomistic school of  philosophy, for a long time the primary philosophical approach of the Roman Catholic Church. The work for which  he is best-known is the Summa Theologica. One of the thirty-three  Doctors of the  Church, he is considered by many Catholics to be the Church's greatest  theologian. Consequently, many institutions of  learning have been named after him.

   

  Aquinas distinguished four kinds of law. These are the eternal, natural,  human, and divine law. Eternal law is the decree of God which governs all  creation. Natural law is the  human "participation" in the eternal law and is discovered by reason.^[21] Natural law, of  course, is based on "first principles":

   

   

  . . . this is the first precept of the law, that good is to be done and  promoted, and evil is to be avoided. All other precepts of the natural law are  based on this . . .^[22]

   

  The desire to live and to procreate are counted by Aquinas among those basic  (natural) human values on which all human values are based. Human law is positive law: the natural law  applied by governments to societies. Divine law is the law as specially revealed  in the scriptures and teachings of the apostles.
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4 more annotations...

• Just how often the police actually get the wrong man is nothing short of  astounding. A 1996 Justice Department report, Convicted by Juries, Exonerated  by Science: Case Studies in the Use of DNA Evidence to Establish Innocence After  Trial, found that in 8,048 rape and rape-and-murder cases referred to the  FBI crime lab from 1988 to mid-1995, a staggering 2,012 of the primary suspects  were exonerated owing to DNA evidence alone. Had DNA analysis not been available  (as it was not a decade earlier), several hundred of the 2,012 would probably  have been tried, convicted, and sentenced for crimes they didn't commit.