Author Archives: F. E. Guerra-Pujol

We reviewed every section of the first seven chapters (up to page 182) in Robert Nozick’s book Anarchy, State, and Utopia during the winter break. (Here is a compilation of our previous posts on Nozick.) We will begin reviewing the rest of … Continue reading →

We’ve been reading the third edition of Introduction to Legal Theory (1979) by John D. Finch. (This little tome is pictured below, left.) At one point, Professor Finch sums up Hans Kelsen’s critique of natural law thus (emphasis added by … Continue reading →

On this day in 1789 residents of Paris stormed La Bastille, a fortress-prison on the eastern edge of the city, thus precipitating the French Revolution and forever changing the course of history.

We began our review of Stephen A. Sachs’s paper “Finding Law” in our previous post. In brief, Professor Sach’s argues that “positive law” or man-made law is not the only source of law, for some laws are unwritten, much like … Continue reading →

Is the common law made or found? Are Anglo-American judges legislators or oracles (or both)? In short, when deciding a close case, does a judge make law–the standard positivist view of judging–or does he find law? For anyone who is … Continue reading →

As we have pointed out in previous posts (see below), the tax case of South Dakota v. Wayfair, which was decided last month, presents a number of fascinating constitutional, philosophical, and institutional questions. The constitutional issues revolve around the Supreme … Continue reading →

Today, Rosa Parks is revered as “the mother of the civil rights movement.” But in the mid-1950s she was treated as a common criminal by the State of Alabama. (Pictured below is Rosa Parks’s original arrest warrant. As an aside, … Continue reading →

(a) The Good 🙂: This is by far the most entertaining book we’ve ever read explaining the evils of communism and the hypocrisy of most intellectuals. One can choose to dismiss these “big ideas” as adolescent, simplistic, or naive, but … Continue reading →