1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910792951303321

Autore

Porwancher Andrew

Titolo

John Henry Wigmore and the rules of evidence : the hidden origins of modern law / / Andrew Porwancher

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Columbia, MO : , : University of Missouri Press, , 2016

Baltimore, Md. : , : Project MUSE, , 2018

©2016

ISBN

0-8262-7363-7

Edizione

[First edition.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xii, 221 pages) : illustrations

Collana

Studies in Constitutional Democracy

Disciplina

271.79120436

Soggetti

Law - United States - Philosophy

Law teachers - Illinois

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

1. Wigmore's life -- 2. Intellectual influences -- 3. Wigmore's Treatise -- 4. Law & society -- 5. Judging -- 6. Contemporary recognition -- Epilogue.

Sommario/riassunto

At the dawn of the twentieth century, the United States was reeling from the effects of rapid urbanization and industrialization. Time-honored verities proved obsolete, and intellectuals in all fields sought ways to make sense of an increasingly unfamiliar reality. The legal system in particular began to buckle under the weight of its anachronism. In the midst of this crisis, John Henry Wigmore, dean of the Northwestern University School of Law, single-handedly modernized the jury trial with his 1904-5 Treatise on evidence, an encyclopedic work that dominated the conduct of trials. In so doing, he inspired generations of progressive jurists among them Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Benjamin Cardozo, and Felix Frankfurter to reshape American law to meet the demands of a new era. Yet Wigmores' role as a prophet of modernity has slipped into obscurity. This book provides a radical reappraisal of his place in the birth of modern legal thought --Front flap.