Replaying the Past

Legal reasoning in the common law tradition requires judges to draw on concepts, and examples that are meant to resonate with a particular emotional import and operate in judicial reasoning as though they do. Judicial applications of constitutional rights are regularly interpreted by reference to p...

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Main Author: Emily Kidd White
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law 2024-05-01
Series:Oñati Socio-Legal Series
Subjects:
Online Access:https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/1154
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author Emily Kidd White
author_facet Emily Kidd White
author_sort Emily Kidd White
collection DOAJ
description Legal reasoning in the common law tradition requires judges to draw on concepts, and examples that are meant to resonate with a particular emotional import and operate in judicial reasoning as though they do. Judicial applications of constitutional rights are regularly interpreted by reference to past violations (either through precedent, contextual framings, and/or legislative history), which in turn elicit a series of emotions which work to deepen and intensify judicial understandings of a right guarantee (freedom of association, freedom of expression, equality, security of the person, etc.). This paper examines the way in which invocations of past political histories, and rights abuses (however ill or well-defined), work to conjure up a set of service emotions (emotions which work to establish a particular frame of mind), which guide judicial applications of doctrine in cases concerning an alleged violation of a constitutional right.
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publisher Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law
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series Oñati Socio-Legal Series
spelling doaj-art-efeceeea1bfe44b7a15afb2bd30cfa062025-08-20T02:27:54ZengOñati International Institute for the Sociology of LawOñati Socio-Legal Series2079-59712024-05-019510.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-11051056Replaying the PastEmily Kidd White0York University Legal reasoning in the common law tradition requires judges to draw on concepts, and examples that are meant to resonate with a particular emotional import and operate in judicial reasoning as though they do. Judicial applications of constitutional rights are regularly interpreted by reference to past violations (either through precedent, contextual framings, and/or legislative history), which in turn elicit a series of emotions which work to deepen and intensify judicial understandings of a right guarantee (freedom of association, freedom of expression, equality, security of the person, etc.). This paper examines the way in which invocations of past political histories, and rights abuses (however ill or well-defined), work to conjure up a set of service emotions (emotions which work to establish a particular frame of mind), which guide judicial applications of doctrine in cases concerning an alleged violation of a constitutional right. https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/1154EmotionsLaw and EmotionsJudgingLegal ReasoningConstitutional Rights
spellingShingle Emily Kidd White
Replaying the Past
Oñati Socio-Legal Series
Emotions
Law and Emotions
Judging
Legal Reasoning
Constitutional Rights
title Replaying the Past
title_full Replaying the Past
title_fullStr Replaying the Past
title_full_unstemmed Replaying the Past
title_short Replaying the Past
title_sort replaying the past
topic Emotions
Law and Emotions
Judging
Legal Reasoning
Constitutional Rights
url https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/1154
work_keys_str_mv AT emilykiddwhite replayingthepast