Disaggregating 'Is This Case Rightly Decided?'

20 Pages Posted: 3 Aug 2023

Date Written: August 2, 2023

Abstract

“Is this case rightly decided?” From the first week of law school, every law student must grapple with this classroom question. This Essay argues that this vital question is problematically under-specified, creating imprecision in thinking about law. This Essay thus advocates that law professors should present students with a three-part framework: whether a case is rightly decided legally, morally, or sociologically.

Additionally, this Essay argues that disaggregating the question exposes deeper deficiencies in legal education. Many law professors do not provide students with serious grounding to engage in rigorous thinking about the relationship between law, morality, and justice, not to mention a deeper theory regarding law’s function in culture and society. Perhaps, such imprecision self-replicates into legal reasoning in legal scholarship and popular discourse.

Keywords: Law School Pedagogy, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Constitutional Law

Suggested Citation

Koh, Steven Arrigg, Disaggregating 'Is This Case Rightly Decided?' (August 2, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4529191 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4529191

Steven Arrigg Koh (Contact Author)

Boston University School of Law ( email )

765 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.bu.edu/law/profile/steven-koh/

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