Jerome Frank and the Legacy of Legal Realism-杰罗姆-弗

CardiffUniversityJeromeFrankandtheLegacyofLegalRealismAuthor(s):NeilDuxburySource:JournalofLawandSociety,Vol.18,No.2(Summer,1991),pp.175-205Publishedby:BlackwellPublishingonbehalfofCardiffUniversityStableURL::21/04/201020:59YouruseoftheJSTORarchiveindicatesyouracceptanceofJSTOR'sTermsandConditionsofUse,availableat://=black.EachcopyofanypartofaJSTORtransmissionmustcontainthesamecopyrightnoticethatappearsonthescreenorprintedpageofsuchtransmission.JSTORisanot-for-profitservicethathelpsscholars,researchers,andstudentsdiscover,use,andbuilduponawiderangeofcontentinatrusteddigitalarchive.Weuseinformationtechnologyandtoolstoincreaseproductivityandfacilitatenewformsofscholarship.FormoreinformationaboutJSTOR,[e-mail]kwellPublishingarecollaboratingwithJSTORtodigitize,preserveandextendaccesstoJournalofLawandSociety.*INTRODUCTIONItisarathersadfactthatjurisprudence,forthosewhofollowthesubject,hasalwaysbeenaname-game.Mentionamovement-positivism,utilitarianism,Scandinavianrealism,whatever-and,moreoftenthannot,certaincorerepresentativesofthatmovementcan,asifautomatically,besummonedtomind.InBritain,thecorerepresentativesofthemovementwhichwecallAmericanlegalrealismarecommonlyconsideredtobeKarlLlewellynandJeromeFrank.Llewellyn'sworkhaswithoutdoubtmadeitsmarkonBritishlegalscholarship.1ToassertthesameofFrank,however,wouldberathermorecontentious.FromhisfirstformalintroductionintoBritishjuris-prudence,FrankwascharacterizedastheprimerepresentativeoftheradicaltendencyinAmericanlegalrealism-therealistwhoturnedhisbackonlegalrulesanddeclaredthemtobewellnighvalueless.2Thischaracterizationbecameofficial,asitwere,withthepublicationofHart'sTheConceptofLawin1961.Distinguishingformalismandrealistrule-scepticism,Hartcriticizestherule-scepticsforfocusingonlyonthefunctionofrulesinjudicialdecisionsandignoringthosesecondaryruleswhichconferjudicialandlegislativepower.3HartconsideredFrank'sworktobeillustrativeofthescepticaltraditioninAmericanlegalrealism,4thoughFrankhimselfdistinguishedscepticismastorulesandscepticismastofacts,declaringhimself-asweshallsee-tobeafact-sceptic.AnunfortunateconsequenceofHart'sformalism-scepticismdistinction,andhiscitationofFrankasanexemplarysceptic,Iwouldargue,isthatFrank'sjurisprudencehascomeprimarilytobeconceivedasacritical*FacultyofLaw,UniversityofManchester,OxfordRoad,ManchesterM139PL,England.Thisarticleisthefifthinaseriesdealingwiththeworkoftheoristswhohavesubstantiallyinfluencedcontemporaryunderstandingoflawandsociety.(SeepreviouslyH.Collins,'RobertoUngerandtheCriticalLegalStudiesMovement'(1987)14J.ofLawandSociety387;A.I.Ogus,'LawandSpontaneousOrder:Hayek'sContributiontoLegalTheory'(1989)16J.ofLawandSociety393;G.Turkel,'MichelFoucalt:Law,Power,andKnowledge'(1990)17J.ofLawandSociety170;I.Stewart,'TheCriticalLegalScienceofHansKelsen'(1990)17J.ofLawandSociety273.)IshouldliketothankBorisBittker,SeanDoran,WalterGellhorn,PeterGoodrich,JohnJackson,JosephJaconelli,MyresMcDougal,AnthonyOgus,JackSchlegel,andWilliamTwiningfortheirhelp.Responsibilityforthefinalversionis,ofcourse,mine.175counterpointtotheformalismofpositivistjurisprudence.Thatis,inBritishjurisprudence,Frank's'realism'hasbeentreatedalltoosimplyasifitwereasparringpartnerforlegalpositivism.NothinglikethishashappenedintheUnitedStates,wherelegalpositivismhasnotenjoyedthesamesortofdominanceasithasinBritain.IntheUnitedStates,legalrealismisseentobepartandparceloftheupheavalsinpoliticsandlegaldoctrinewhichoccurredintheearlydecadesofthiscentury.5Inthisarticle,IattemptacomprehensiveandcriticalanalysisofFrank'sjurisprudenceasregardedagainstthebackdropofhismoregeneralviewsonthenatureofAmericansociety.Itryalsotoshowthatthereis,atthebasisofhiswritings,apeculiartensionbetweenrelativismandidealism-atensionwhichcanbeseen,inmoremoderntimes,similarlytohaveinfectedAmericancriticallegalstudies.Theresultofthisanalysis,Ihope,willbearatherdifferentviewofFrankthanthatwhichhascommonlybeenpresentedinBritishjurisprudence.6INTELLECTUALBACKGROUNDJeromeFrankwasbornin1889,thesonofalawyer.7In1909hereceivedthedegreeofPh.B.fromtheUniversityofChicago,havingstudiedunderCharlesMerriamwhoatthetimewasattemptingtodevelopapsychology-basedapproachtothestudyofpolitics.8Ongraduating,FrankremainedinChicago,forawhileworkingwithMerriam,andeventually-onparentalinsistence-enrollingforthedegreeofDoctorofJurisprudence.Frankgraduatedin1912withthehighestgradeseveraward