If we lawyers tend to overlook the evolution of substantive law, then we can
be downright unconscious about legal institutions and legal practice. Practices
are all too often taken for granted, and we too often repeat rituals and sustain
enterprises long after their reason for being has evaporated.
When our court recently considered whether to change Indiana’s manner of
citing cases, I decided it might be interesting to see when this method got its start.
It certainly commenced before the infamous Bluebook issued by the Harvard,
Yale, Columbia and Pennsylvania law reviews. A quick investigation revealed
that the year of a decision, placed right after the name of parties, began appearing
when the court acquired a new reporter of decisions in 1904. His name was
George W. Self. It was probably a campaign promise, and it was a good one.
We have been doing it that way ever since, even though the publishing world has
turned upside down several times in the intervening generations.
10
The same lesson may be learned on more important matters. The present
fragmented structure of Indiana’s trial courts apparently flows from a conclusion
reached by someone in the 1880s that the Indiana Constitution permitted only one
judge in each circuit court. Accordingly, the legislature created criminal courts,
superior courts, probate courts, juvenile courts, and so on, even though it has
been an article of faith in the American legal profession since 1908 that unified
trial courts serve us best. Until recently, no one had seriously examined the
validity of that 1880s conclusion. When the six-judge Monroe Circuit Court was
created in 1990, we broke the myth that led to fragmented trial courts in our state.
This was a point that could have used some earlier examination. In short, as
Professor Calvin Woodard once said to a class, “We study history to free
ourselves from it.”
That has certainly been my experience in studying the nature of common law
courts in England. As I mentioned earlier, the common law tradition was wholly
an oral tradition in which judges and lawyers debated and refined points of law.
The same tradition guided the appellate courts. These higher courts were places
where counsel argued appeals from a list of authorities provided to the court in
advance; the arguments went on for as long as the judges thought necessary, and
then the judges announced a decision. This system was transplanted to the
English colonies in America, and it largely prevailed in the colonial period and
well on into the 19th century.11
Although the history of such appeals is illuminating, it is but a prelude to the
fact that modern British appellate courts have retained this oral tradition. That
is, appeals still occur without a transcript, without briefs, without formal time
limits for argument, and without the judges issuing written opinions. It should
be thought-provoking for modern American lawyers and judges, buried as we are
under mounds of paper. It is an important lesson, one that starts as history and
ends as comparative law.
The current debate about the nature of legal education, of course, owes a
great deal to history. Law firms complain that new law graduates know
something about substantive law but not very much about drafting documents or
organizing client matters.12 Law schools have heard these complaints, which
have been flowing now for a decade or two, and they have made substantial
provision for courses and clinical experiences in everything from drafting briefs
to counseling clients. Many in the bar are still not satisfied and argue for less
ถ้าทนายความที่เรามักจะมองเห็นวิวัฒนาการของกฎหมายเรา แล้วเราสามารถมีสติจริงจังเกี่ยวกับสถาบันทางกฎหมายและปฏิบัติตามกฎหมาย แนวทางปฏิบัติมีทั้งหมดบ่อยเกินไปได้รับ และเราพิธีกรรมทำซ้ำบ่อยเกินไป และรักษาองค์กรระยะยาวหลังจากเหตุผลของพวกเขาที่ไม่ได้หายไปเมื่อศาลของเราล่าสุดถือว่าการเปลี่ยนแปลงลักษณะของอินดีแอนาอ้างกรณี ฉันตัดสินใจมันอาจจะน่าสนใจเมื่อวิธีการนี้ได้เริ่มต้นแน่นอนมันเริ่มก่อน Bluebook อับอายที่ออก โดยฮาร์วาร์ดกฎหมายเยล โคลัมเบีย และเพนซิลวาเนียรีวิว ตรวจสอบด่วนที่เปิดเผยที่ปีตัดสินใจ ห้องหลังชื่อพรรค เริ่มปรากฏเมื่อศาลได้รับผู้สื่อข่าวใหม่ตัดสินใจในปี 2447 เขาชื่อจอร์ช W. ตนเอง มันคงเป็นสัญญาส่งเสริมการขาย และเป็นหนึ่งในดีเรามีการทำเรื่องที่ทางนับตั้งแต่ แม้โลกเผยแพร่ได้เปิดคว่ำลงหลายครั้งในรุ่นอยู่ระหว่างกลาง10บทเรียนที่เดียวกันอาจจะเรียนรู้ในเรื่องสำคัญ ปัจจุบันโครงสร้างที่มีการกระจายตัวของสนามทดลองของ Indiana ไหลเห็นได้ชัดจากสรุปถึงบุคคลในปัจจุบันที่รัฐอินเดียน่าได้เพียงคนเดียวผู้พิพากษาในศาลแต่ละวงจร ตาม ทูลเกล้าทูลกระหม่อมสร้างศาลอาญาศาลที่เหนือกว่า ในศาล ศาลคดีเด็กและเยาวชน และอื่น ๆ แม้มีมีบทความอีหม่านในวงการกฎหมายอเมริกันตั้งแต่ค.ศ. 1908 ซึ่งโดยรวมแล้วtrial courts serve us best. Until recently, no one had seriously examined thevalidity of that 1880s conclusion. When the six-judge Monroe Circuit Court wascreated in 1990, we broke the myth that led to fragmented trial courts in our state.This was a point that could have used some earlier examination. In short, asProfessor Calvin Woodard once said to a class, “We study history to freeourselves from it.”That has certainly been my experience in studying the nature of common lawcourts in England. As I mentioned earlier, the common law tradition was whollyan oral tradition in which judges and lawyers debated and refined points of law.The same tradition guided the appellate courts. These higher courts were placeswhere counsel argued appeals from a list of authorities provided to the court inadvance; the arguments went on for as long as the judges thought necessary, andthen the judges announced a decision. This system was transplanted to theEnglish colonies in America, and it largely prevailed in the colonial period andwell on into the 19th century.11Although the history of such appeals is illuminating, it is but a prelude to thefact that modern British appellate courts have retained this oral tradition. Thatis, appeals still occur without a transcript, without briefs, without formal timelimits for argument, and without the judges issuing written opinions. It shouldbe thought-provoking for modern American lawyers and judges, buried as we areunder mounds of paper. It is an important lesson, one that starts as history and
ends as comparative law.
The current debate about the nature of legal education, of course, owes a
great deal to history. Law firms complain that new law graduates know
something about substantive law but not very much about drafting documents or
organizing client matters.12 Law schools have heard these complaints, which
have been flowing now for a decade or two, and they have made substantial
provision for courses and clinical experiences in everything from drafting briefs
to counseling clients. Many in the bar are still not satisfied and argue for less
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