True Law as Genre: Narrative Nonfiction and the Law

University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 605

Tex. A&M J. Prop. L., vol. 11 (2025 forthcoming)

45 Pages Posted: 5 Sep 2024 Last revised: 29 Nov 2024

See all articles by Jorge L. Contreras

Jorge L. Contreras

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law

Date Written: August 01, 2024

Abstract

The Genome Defense, which offers a book-length narrative nonfiction account of the civil litigation that led to the elimination of patents on human genes in the United States, is a member of a distinct literary subgenre that I term True Law. Like the older and better-known True Crime genre, True Law narratives blend the conventions of journalism and novelistic writing to describe complex legal disputes in a manner that is engaging and accessible to the general public. True Law accounts, which have increased in number and popularity since the publication of Jonathan Harr's A Civil Action in 1995, serve multiple social functions including raising public awareness of legal issues, enhancing legal pedagogy, advocating policy positions, and inviting critical consideration of narrative voices, subjects and privileges. This essay invites scholars of law and literature to consider True Law works alongside other legal texts and include these works in the syllabi of law and literature classes.

Keywords: law and literature, genre, true law, true crime, civil action

Suggested Citation

Contreras, Jorge L., True Law as Genre: Narrative Nonfiction and the Law (August 01, 2024). University of Utah College of Law Research Paper No. 605, Tex. A&M J. Prop. L., vol. 11 (2025 forthcoming), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4913652 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4913652

Jorge L. Contreras (Contact Author)

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law ( email )

383 S. University Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0730
United States

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