ABSTRACT
Language skills,study skills, argument skills and legal knowledge are vital to every law student, professional lawyer and academic. Legal Method Reasoning offers a range of 'how to' techniques for acquiring these skills. It shows how to handle and use legal texts, how to read and write about the law, how to acquire disciplined study techniques and how to construct legal arguments.
This new edition will be of value to both undergraduate and postgraduate law students.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter 1|1 pages
INTRODUCTION
Successful legal study depends upon the simultaneous development of the following different but complimentary skills:
chapter 2|1 pages
THE POWER OF LANGUAGE
Language, like the air we breathe, surrounds us and, also like the air we breathe, rarely do we question it. However, at the outset of legal studies it is vital to take an opportunity to consider the potential language has for both the exertion of power
chapter 3|1 pages
READING AND UNDERSTANDING LEGISLATION
This chapter introduces ‘legislation’: the first of four sources of English legal rules discussed in detail in this book. The others are common law/case law (see Chapter 4), the law relating to European human rights and fundamental freedoms, and
chapter 4|1 pages
READING AND UNDERSTANDING LAW REPORTS
The few legal disputes that cannot be resolved by negotiation between lawyers or last minute settlements outside the court are determined by the judges in the trial courts, and in even fewer cases, decided in the appellate courts by the senior
chapter 5|1 pages
READING ENGLISH LAW—THE EUROPEAN DIMENSION
This chapter seeks to provide a clear foundation for the study of the European dimension of English law—that part of English law very much affected by some of
chapter 6|1 pages
READING BOOKS ABOUT LAW—A READING STRATEGY
This chapter briefly introduces a general reading strategy and demonstrates its use by applying it to the reading of a short article ‘The European Union belongs to its
chapter 7|1 pages
LEGAL ARGUMENT CONSTRUCTION
This chapter is an introduction to the construction of legal argument. The ability to engage in competent argument is seen as an essential skill in most areas of life. All academic disciplines place value on the competent construction of argument, and
chapter |1 pages
Figure 7.30: levels 1 and 2 of the chart Then we can insert arrows, and indicate the status of the testimony is it believed ( selected from the statements. These were hinted at in Figure 7.28, above, which annotated the witness statements. Go back to the statements and remind yourself what they said. Do you already have a good idea of what is at issue at the level of fact and evidence? What should be put under item 5? This indicates the mens rea. What might you as a prosecutor be looking for? What might you as the defence be looking for? The arrows have now been placed on the chart and symbols for belief and uncertainty. Now look at Figure 7.32, below, which has a number of interim probanda (items 6–26). Did you notice most of these when you first checked the statements? As can be seen the main areas of uncertainty concern PP 2 and 5.
), disbelieved ()or is its status doubted (?). Figure 7.31: levels 1 and 2 with indicators of links, belief and doubt 7.11.4 The interim probanda The next levels require you to have identified facts and evidence which has been
chapter 8|1 pages
WRITING ESSAYS AND ANSWERS TO PROBLEM QUESTIONS
This chapter considers the differences and similarities in approach required to produce written work in the form of essays and answers to legal problem questions.
chapter 10|1 pages
CONCLUSION
This text has attempted to provide a clearer view of the practicalities of reading legal texts, both primary and secondary, in order to engage in argument construction. Ways have been suggested of ‘breaking into’ texts to understand the flexibility and the inherent unreliability of language.
chapter |22 pages
APPENDIX 1—ENGLISH PRIMARY LEGAL TEXTS
(1) GEORGE MITCHELL (CHESTERHALL) LTD v FINNEY LOCK SEEDS LTD [1983] 2 ALL ER 732–44 HOUSE OF LORDS LORD DIPLOCK, LORD SCARMAN, LORD ROSKILL, LORD BRIDGE OF
chapter |97 pages
APPENDIX 3—THE EUROPEAN DIMENSION (2) FACTORTAME CASE STUDY MATERIALS AND EXTRACTS FROM TILLOTSON
(1) R v SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT EX P FACTORTAME LTD
chapter |1 pages
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, R, The Power and the Word, 1988, London: Paladin. Anderson, T and Twining, W, Analysis of Evidence, 1991, London: Butterworths. Bailey, SH and Gunn, M, Smith, Bailey and Gunn on the Modern English Legal System, 4th edn, 2002, London: Sweet & Maxwell. Barrass, R, Students Must Write, 1998, London: Routledge.