Karl Nickerson Llewellyn (May 22, 1893 – February 13, 1962) was an American jurisprudential scholar associated with the school of legal realism. The Journal of Legal Studies has identified Llewellyn as one of the twenty most cited American legal scholars of the 20th century.[1]
Karl Llewellyn was born on May 22, 1893, in Seattle but grew up in Brooklyn. He was the son of William Henry Llewellyn, a businessman of Welsh ancestry, and Janet George, a passionate suffragette and prohibitionist of Congregationalist conviction.[2] He attended Boys High School. At the age of sixteen he was sent to study in Germany, at the Realgymnasium of Schwerin, where he spent three years and passed his Abitur (school-leaving examination) in the spring of 1911; he learned to speak an excellent German and was able later in life to publish in that language.[2][3] After having attended the University of Lausanne for a brief time, in September 1911 he entered Yale College and in 1915 Yale Law School, earning an LL.B. in 1918 and a J.D. in 1920. He was elected to the editorial board of the Yale Law Journal in 1916 and graduated top of his class in 1918 magna cum laude.[2][4] At Yale he got acquainted with two prominent law professors and key figures of the incipient legal realism movement, Arthur L. Corbin and Wesley N. Hohfeld, whose influence on him was profound.[5]
Llewellyn was studying abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris when World War I broke out in 1914. He was sympathetic to the German cause and traveled to Germany to enlist in the German army, but his refusal to renounce his American citizenship made him ineligible. He was allowed to fight with the 78th Prussian Infantry Regiment and was injured at the First Battle of Ypres.[6] For his actions, he was promoted to sergeant and decorated with the Iron Cross, 2nd class. After spending ten weeks in a German hospital at Nürtingen and having his petition to enlist without swearing allegiance to Germany turned down, Llewellyn returned to the United States and to his studies at Yale in March 1915. After the United States entered the war, Llewellyn attempted to enlist in the United States Army but was rejected because he had fought on the German side.[7]
He joined the Columbia Law School faculty in 1925, where he remained until 1951, when he was appointed professor of the University of Chicago Law School. While at Columbia, Llewellyn became one of the major legal scholars of his day. He was a major proponent of legal realism. He also served as principal drafter of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).
Llewellyn married his former student Soia Mentschikoff, who had become a law professor and was also a UCC drafter. She also accepted a teaching post at Chicago and later became dean of University of Miami School of Law.[8]
Llewellyn died in Chicago of a heart attack on February 13, 1962.
Legal realismedit
Compared with traditional jurisprudence, known as legal formalism, Llewellyn and the legal realists proposed that the facts and outcomes of specific cases composed the law, rather than logical reasoning from legal rules. They argued that law is not a deductive science. Llewellyn epitomized the realist view when he wrote that what judges, lawyers, and law enforcement officers "do about disputes is, to my mind, the law itself" (Bramble Bush, p. 3).
As one of the founders of the U.S. legal realism movement, he believed that the law is little more than putty in the hands of a judge who is able to shape the outcome of a case based on personal biases.[9]
Publicationsedit
1930: The Bramble Bush: On Our Law and Its Study (1930), written especially for first-year law students. A new edition, edited and with an introduction by Steven Sheppard, was published in 2009 by Oxford University Press.
1941: The Cheyenne Way (with E. Adamson Hoebel) (1941), University of Oklahoma Press.
1960: The Common Law Tradition—Deciding Appeals (1960), Little, Brown and Company.
1962: Jurisprudence: Realism in Theory and Practice (1962).
1989: The Case Law System in America, edited and with an introduction by Paul Gewirtz, University of Chicago Press (revised text of lectures delivered in German at the University of Leipzig in 1928, originally published in German in 1933)[10]
^Shapiro, Fred R. (2000). "The Most-Cited Legal Scholars". Journal of Legal Studies. 29 (1): 409–426. doi:10.1086/468080. S2CID 143676627.
^ abcPapke, David Ray (2000). "Llewellyn, Karl Nickerson (1893-1962), legal theorist and law reformer". American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1100533.
^The Casualty List (Prussian) dated Dec. 23, 1914 lists under 78 IR, Ist Battalion, 4th Company Krgsfr (Kriegsfreiwilliger - War Volunteer) Karl Llewellyn verwundet (wounded)
^"Soia Mentschikoff Reformed how the United States Does Business and Led the Way for Later Generations of Women in Law" by Jason Kelly The University of Chicago: The Law School Retrieved May 29, 2021
^"Jurisprudence". West's Encyclopedia of American Law. Ed. Jeffrey Lehman, Shirelle Phelps. Detroit: Thomson/Gale, 2005.
^Munday, Roderick (March 14, 1990). "The Case Law System in America. By Karl Llewellyn. Edited and with an introduction by Paul Gewirtz. Translated by Michael Ansaldi. [Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. 1989. xxxvii, 123 and (Index) 3pp. Hardback £19.95 net.]". The Cambridge Law Journal. 49 (1): 179–180. doi:10.1017/S0008197300107147. S2CID 145683163 – via Cambridge Core.
Further readingedit
Roger Cotterrell. The Politics of Jurisprudence. Second revised and enlarged edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Mathieu Deflem. Sociology of Law: Visions of a Scholarly Tradition. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Duxbury, Neil (1997). Patterns of American Jurisprudence. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN9780198264910.
George W. Liebman. The Common Law Tradition: A Collective Portrait of Five Legal Scholars. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers 2005.
Twining, William (2012). Karl Llewellyn and the Realist Movement. Cambridge New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-1-107-02338-3. OCLC 833769742.
External linksedit
Guide to the Karl N. Llewellyn Papers 1890-1983 at the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
"KARL LLEWELLYN, LAW EXPERT, DIES; Professor Emeritus of U. of Chicago Was an Author Worked on Code Earned High Praise". The New York Times. February 15, 1962. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
karl, llewellyn, karl, nickerson, llewellyn, 1893, february, 1962, american, jurisprudential, scholar, associated, with, school, legal, realism, journal, legal, studies, identified, llewellyn, twenty, most, cited, american, legal, scholars, 20th, century, cont. Karl Nickerson Llewellyn May 22 1893 February 13 1962 was an American jurisprudential scholar associated with the school of legal realism The Journal of Legal Studies has identified Llewellyn as one of the twenty most cited American legal scholars of the 20th century 1 Karl Llewellyn Contents 1 Biography 2 Legal realism 3 Publications 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksBiography editKarl Llewellyn was born on May 22 1893 in Seattle but grew up in Brooklyn He was the son of William Henry Llewellyn a businessman of Welsh ancestry and Janet George a passionate suffragette and prohibitionist of Congregationalist conviction 2 He attended Boys High School At the age of sixteen he was sent to study in Germany at the Realgymnasium of Schwerin where he spent three years and passed his Abitur school leaving examination in the spring of 1911 he learned to speak an excellent German and was able later in life to publish in that language 2 3 After having attended the University of Lausanne for a brief time in September 1911 he entered Yale College and in 1915 Yale Law School earning an LL B in 1918 and a J D in 1920 He was elected to the editorial board of the Yale Law Journal in 1916 and graduated top of his class in 1918 magna cum laude 2 4 At Yale he got acquainted with two prominent law professors and key figures of the incipient legal realism movement Arthur L Corbin and Wesley N Hohfeld whose influence on him was profound 5 Llewellyn was studying abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris when World War I broke out in 1914 He was sympathetic to the German cause and traveled to Germany to enlist in the German army but his refusal to renounce his American citizenship made him ineligible He was allowed to fight with the 78th Prussian Infantry Regiment and was injured at the First Battle of Ypres 6 For his actions he was promoted to sergeant and decorated with the Iron Cross 2nd class After spending ten weeks in a German hospital at Nurtingen and having his petition to enlist without swearing allegiance to Germany turned down Llewellyn returned to the United States and to his studies at Yale in March 1915 After the United States entered the war Llewellyn attempted to enlist in the United States Army but was rejected because he had fought on the German side 7 He joined the Columbia Law School faculty in 1925 where he remained until 1951 when he was appointed professor of the University of Chicago Law School While at Columbia Llewellyn became one of the major legal scholars of his day He was a major proponent of legal realism He also served as principal drafter of the Uniform Commercial Code UCC Llewellyn married his former student Soia Mentschikoff who had become a law professor and was also a UCC drafter She also accepted a teaching post at Chicago and later became dean of University of Miami School of Law 8 Llewellyn died in Chicago of a heart attack on February 13 1962 Legal realism editCompared with traditional jurisprudence known as legal formalism Llewellyn and the legal realists proposed that the facts and outcomes of specific cases composed the law rather than logical reasoning from legal rules They argued that law is not a deductive science Llewellyn epitomized the realist view when he wrote that what judges lawyers and law enforcement officers do about disputes is to my mind the law itself Bramble Bush p 3 As one of the founders of the U S legal realism movement he believed that the law is little more than putty in the hands of a judge who is able to shape the outcome of a case based on personal biases 9 Publications edit1930 The Bramble Bush On Our Law and Its Study 1930 written especially for first year law students A new edition edited and with an introduction by Steven Sheppard was published in 2009 by Oxford University Press 1941 The Cheyenne Way with E Adamson Hoebel 1941 University of Oklahoma Press 1960 The Common Law Tradition Deciding Appeals 1960 Little Brown and Company 1962 Jurisprudence Realism in Theory and Practice 1962 1989 The Case Law System in America edited and with an introduction by Paul Gewirtz University of Chicago Press revised text of lectures delivered in German at the University of Leipzig in 1928 originally published in German in 1933 10 2011 The Theory of Rules edited and with an introduction by Frederick Schauer University of Chicago Press a lost treatise rediscovered decades after Llewellyn s death References edit Shapiro Fred R 2000 The Most Cited Legal Scholars Journal of Legal Studies 29 1 409 426 doi 10 1086 468080 S2CID 143676627 a b c Papke David Ray 2000 Llewellyn Karl Nickerson 1893 1962 legal theorist and law reformer American National Biography Online Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 anb 9780198606697 article 1100533 Twining 2012 p 89 Twining 2012 p 99 Twining 2012 p 95 98 The Casualty List Prussian dated Dec 23 1914 lists under 78 IR Ist Battalion 4th Company Krgsfr Kriegsfreiwilliger War Volunteer Karl Llewellyn verwundet wounded Twining 2012 p 535 537 Soia Mentschikoff Reformed how the United States Does Business and Led the Way for Later Generations of Women in Law by Jason Kelly The University of Chicago The Law School Retrieved May 29 2021 Jurisprudence West s Encyclopedia of American Law Ed Jeffrey Lehman Shirelle Phelps Detroit Thomson Gale 2005 Munday Roderick March 14 1990 The Case Law System in America By Karl Llewellyn Edited and with an introduction by Paul Gewirtz Translated by Michael Ansaldi Chicago and London University of Chicago Press 1989 xxxvii 123 and Index 3pp Hardback 19 95 net The Cambridge Law Journal 49 1 179 180 doi 10 1017 S0008197300107147 S2CID 145683163 via Cambridge Core Further reading editRoger Cotterrell The Politics of Jurisprudence Second revised and enlarged edition Oxford Oxford University Press 2003 Mathieu Deflem Sociology of Law Visions of a Scholarly Tradition Cambridge New York Cambridge University Press 2008 Duxbury Neil 1997 Patterns of American Jurisprudence Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 9780198264910 George W Liebman The Common Law Tradition A Collective Portrait of Five Legal Scholars New Brunswick Transaction Publishers 2005 Twining William 2012 Karl Llewellyn and the Realist Movement Cambridge New York NY Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1 107 02338 3 OCLC 833769742 External links editGuide to the Karl N Llewellyn Papers 1890 1983 at the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center KARL LLEWELLYN LAW EXPERT DIES Professor Emeritus of U of Chicago Was an Author Worked on Code Earned High Praise The New York Times February 15 1962 Retrieved November 26 2020 Works by or about Karl Llewellyn at Internet Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Karl Llewellyn amp oldid 1189166511, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
