Overview

Over the nearly four decades it has been in print, Reason in Law has established itself as the place to start for understanding legal reasoning, a critical component of the rule of law. This ninth edition brings the book’s analyses and examples up to date, adding new cases while retaining old ones whose lessons remain potent. It examines several recent controversial Supreme Court decisions, including rulings on the constitutionality and proper interpretation of the Affordable Care Act and Justice Scalia’s powerful dissent in Maryland v. King. Also new to this edition are cases on same-sex marriage, the Voting Rights Act, and the legalization of marijuana. A new appendix explains the historical evolution of legal reasoning and the rule of law in civic life. The result is an indispensable introduction to the workings of the law. 

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9780226328041

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Reason in Law is a superbly written, pedagogically rich, historically and conceptually informed introduction to legal reasoning. . . . The student becomes aware through analyses of illustrative cases that legal reasoning requires judges and lawyers to analyze the facts in a case in light of legal rules, precedents, wider social reality, and normative values which are brought to the specific case. . . . . Rigorous and complex in its discussion of concepts, . . . this may well be the very best introductory text. -- Law and Politics Book Review

Reason in Law is a superbly written, pedagogically rich, historically and conceptually informed introduction to legal reasoning. . . . The student becomes aware through analyses of illustrative cases that legal reasoning requires judges and lawyers to analyze the facts in a case in light of legal rules, precedents, wider social reality, and normative values which are brought to the specific case. . . . . Rigorous and complex in its discussion of concepts, . . . this may well be the very best introductory text. --Law and Politics Book Review

Author Information

Lief Carter is professor emeritus of political science at Colorado College. In addition to the previous eight editions of Reason in Law, he is the author of several books, including Administrative Law and Politics. Thomas F. Burke is professor of political science at Wellesley College and a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author or coauthor of three books, most recently How Policy Shapes Politics.

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