8/14/2019 Technical Reading Law I 1210
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UNIVERSIDAD COOPERATIVA DE COLOMBIA
Profesionales con Criterios Polticos
Villavicencio Meta Colombia
Faculty of Law
English I Group 1210 Technical reading II
Name: _______________________________ Code: __________ Date
______________
WHATS JURISPRUDENCE?I
To build up solid foundations in the world of jurispruedence,
its important to begin by getting
familiar with definitions. The word jurisprudence, for instance,
derives from the Latin
term juris prudential. It means "the study, knowledge, or
science of law." Jurisprudence
commonly means the philosophy of law.
II
Legal philosophy has many aspects, but four ofthem are the most
common. The first and the
most prevalent form of jurisprudence seeks to analyze, explain,
classify, and criticize
entire bodies of law. The second type of jurisprudence compares
and contrasts law with
other fields of knowledge such as literature, economics,
religion, and the social sciences. Thethird type of jurisprudence
seeks to reveal the historical, moral, and cultural basis of a
particular
legal concept. The fourth body of jurisprudence focuses on
finding the answer to such abstract
questions as What is law? How do judges (properly) decide
cases?
III
Apart from different types of jurisprudence, different schools
of jurisprudence exist. Formalism,
or conceptualism, for example, treats law like math or science.
Formalists believe that a judge
identifies the relevant legal principles, applies them to the
facts of a case, and logically deduces
a rule that will govern the outcome of the dispute. In contrast,
proponents of legal realism
believe that most cases beforecourts present hard questions that
judges must resolve by balancing
the interests of the parties and ultimately drawing an arbitrary
line on one side of the dispute.
IVThere are no bright lines between different schools of
jurisprudence. The legal philosophy of a
particular legal scholar may consist of a combination of strains
from many schools of legal
thought. Some scholars think that it is more appropriate to
think about jurisprudence as a
continuum.
V
The above mentioned schools of legal thoughts are only part of a
diverse jurisprudential picture
of the United States. Other prominent schools of legal thought
exist. Critical legal
studies, feminist jurisprudence, law and economics,
utilitarianism, and legal pragmatism are but a
few ofthem.
Vocabulary for the written test
Foundations: Fundamentos
Plead: Alegar
Govern: Governar
Sue : Demandar
Legal rinciples: Principios legales
Verdict : Veredicto
Acquit : Absolver
Lawsuit : Juicio
DDispute: Disputa, pleito
Facts of a case: Hechos de un caso
S
Teacher William Cspedes
http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/critical_theory.htmlhttp://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/critical_theory.htmlhttp://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/feminist_jurisprudence.htmlhttp://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/feminist_jurisprudence.htmlhttp://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/critical_theory.htmlhttp://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/critical_theory.html
