This volume contributes to the growing field of comparative Jewish and American law, presenting twenty-six essays characterized by a number of distinct features. The essays will appeal to legal scholars and, at the same time, will be accessible and of interest to a more general audience of intellectually curious readers. These contributions are faithful to Jewish law on its own terms, while applying comparative methods to offer fresh perspectives on complex issues in the Jewish legal system. Through careful comparative analysis, the essays also turn to Jewish law to provide insights into substantive and conceptual areas of the American legal system, particularly areas of American law that are complex, controversial, and unsettled.
Price: $129.00
Pages: 384
Publisher: Academic Studies Press
Imprint: Touro University Press
Series: Touro University Press
Publication Date:
20 August 2018
Trim Size: 9.21 X 6.14 in
ISBN: 9781618116550
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
Systems of law: Jewish Law, Comparative law
“Levine’s
recently published two-volume work, Jewish Law and American Law: A
Comparative Study, is primarily a collection of his impressive contributions
to the Jewish comparative project over the past three decades. A quick perusal
of the two volumes serves as a ready reminder of why Levine has long been one
of the academics central to Jewish law’s rise in the American legal academy. Covering
his wide range of Jewish law writings, the two volumes traverse significant
legal terrain, focusing on the areas of Levine’s primary scholarly emphasis. … For
those interested in both Jewish law in particular, and religious law in general,
[Jewish Law and American Law] serve[s]
as [an] extraordinary exploration within the Jewish comparative law project.” —Michael
A. Helfand, American Journal of
Comparative Law, Vol. 67 No. 1
— Michael A. Helfand
Samuel J. Levine is Professor of Law and Director of the Jewish Law Institute at Touro Law Center. He has also served as the Beznos Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University College of Law, and he has taught at the law schools at Bar-Ilan, Fordham, Pepperdine, and St. John’s Universities.
Introduction
Section One. The Comparative Study of Jewish Law and American Law: An Introduction
1. Teaching Jewish Law in American Law Schools: An Emerging Development in Law and Religion
2. Applying Jewish Legal Theory in the Context of American Law and Legal Scholarship: A Methodological Analysis
3. An Introduction to Interpretation in Jewish Law, with References to American Legal Theory
4. An Introduction to Legislation in Jewish Law, with References to the American Legal System
Section Two. Capital Punishment
5. Capital Punishment in Jewish Law and Its Application to the American Legal System: A Conceptual Overview
6. Playing God: An Essay on Law, Philosophy, and American Capital Punishment
Section Three. Self-Incrimination
7. An Introduction to Self-Incrimination in Jewish Law, with Application to the American Legal System: A Psychological and Philosophical Analysis
8. Miranda, Dickerson, and Jewish Legal Theory: The Constitutional Rule in a Comparative Analytical Framework
Section Four. Constitutional Theory
9. Unenumerated Constitutional Rights and Unenumerated Biblical Obligations: A Preliminary Study in Comparative Hermeneutics
10. Rules and Standards in Jewish Law and American Constitutional Law
11. Of Inkblots and Omnisignificance: Conceptualizing Secondary and Symbolic Functions of the Ninth Amendment in a Comparative Hermeneutic Framework
Section Five. Legal Practice
12. Reflections on the Practice of Law as a Religious Calling from a Perspective of Jewish Law and Ethics
13. A Look at American Legal Practice through a Perspective of Jewish Law, Ethics, and Tradition: A Conceptual Overview
14. Taking Ethics Codes Seriously: Broad Ethics Provisions and Unenumerated Ethical Obligations in a Comparative Hermeneutic Framework
15. Taking Prosecutorial Ethics Seriously: A Consideration of the Prosecutor's Ethical Obligation to “Seek Justice” in a Comparative Analytical Framework
16. Taking Ethical Obligations Seriously: A Look at American Codes of Professional Responsibility through a Perspective of Jewish Law and Ethics
Index