JURISMANIA seemed like a congenial book for one to read after answering the above question with, "A good start."
A lawyer himself, Campos strives to insist that American law has burgeoned to the point of being ludicrous, arational and approaching irrelevance. He makes his case with such observations as:
"... the decade-long appeal, the 100-page appellate court opinion, the 200-page law review article, the 1,000 page statute, and so on. These sorts of legal artifacts are the fruit of futile, hypertrophied exercises in forms of argument that call themselves 'reason', but that in fact must conclude with the assertion of axiomatic or circular propositions. And the excessive, jurismaniacal character of such monuments to rationalist vanity can itself be understood as the product of what is in essence a kind of obsessive-compulsive reaction to the neurotic structure of American legal thought."
And this:
"... to call something a question of constitutional law is not so much an act of formal categorization as it is a shorthand way of signaling that it involves the most intractable moral and political issues our society faces. Constitutional law is the categorical dumping ground for everything the normal political process can't digest: race and religion, sex, and death. All the things one should never bring up in polite conversation."
Probably the most useful concept I came away with was that of "equilibrium zone", i.e. that interface between two polar opposite but equally powerful moral, legal, or social forces. Because both forces must ultimately be placated, it's in this zone that promulgated laws achieve a frustrating ambiguity that renders them open to diverse interpretations and, therefore, pretty much useless.
Campos supports his case with extensive sidebars into philosophy, metaphysics, and quotes from Nietzche - all of which left me, a Life Science kind of guy, pretty much dazed. Perhaps the author was trying too hard. Indeed, my metaphysical experience is confined to considering whether the burger in front of me is real or an illusion and, if the former, whether it contains cheese or not. I suggest that law students might find JURISMANIA intellectually provocative, but I too often lost the thread and therefore must deduct points.
- Amazon Business : For business-only pricing, quantity discounts and FREE Shipping. Register a free business account
