Justice Cardozo: A Mediator of Jusisprudential Thought in the 1920's and 1930's
![handle is hein.journals/tmclr2 and id is 155 raw text is: JUSTICE CARDOZO: A MEDIATOR OF
JURISPRUDENTIAL THOUGHT IN THE
1920'S AND 1930'S
CAROL J. ORMOND AND JOHN DENVIR*
When scholars and students of the law read an opinion by
Benjamin Cardozo, they can note his judicial craftsmanship in
bending established rules and doctrines to benefit society, or refus-
ing to extend the law for fear of upsetting established order. His
written opinions reflect the end result of his decision-making pro-
cess. To understand why Cardozo ruled as he did, it is important
to study his approach to the law. In his works and addresses,1 the
process is laid bare. His work as a legal philosopher is timeless; in
removing the cloak of mystery from the judicial process, he has
provided a window whereby one may observe the method of
decision.
In these works, there is evidence of the turmoil caused by di-
verging trends in legal thinking. Cardozo could not limit himself to
just one school of thought. He was caught, trapped between the
advances of the realist movement' and attempts to cling to the for-
malist school that was being overshadowed by this new movement.
In his approach to the law, Cardozo acted as a mediator between
these two schools.
* Carol J. Ormond received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of
Law in 1984. Ms. Ormond holds a B.A. in Political Science, conferred by the University of
California at Davis in 1981. Prior to completing her law degree, Ms. Ormond participated in
an exchange program with Tel Aviv University, Israel, in 1982. Ms. Ormond is presently
employed by the firm of Lynch, Loofbourrow, Helmenstine, Gilardi & Grummer in San
Francisco, California.
John Denvir is a Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco School of Law,
teaching constitutional law and legal theory. Mr. Denvir possesses a J.D. from New York
University as well as an LL.M. from Harvard University. Before his current position, Mr.
Denvir served on the legal staff of California Rural Legal Assistance and the San Francisco
Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation.
1. B. CARDOZO, THE NATURE OF THE JUDICAL PROCEsS (1921) [hereinafter cited as NA-
TURE]; B. CARnozo, THE GROWTH OF THE LAW (1924) [hereinafter cited as GROWTH], B. CAR-
DOZO, THE PARADoxEs op LEGAL SCIENCE (1928) [hereinafter cited as PARADOXES].
2. The term realist movement has been used to describe two groups in the school.
Cardozo chose to call Holmes and his immediate contemporaries realists while he referred
to later members as neo-realists. Over the years, this distinction has been eroded; the
term realist movement is now used to describe this period in general.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/tmclr2&div=17&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Justice Cardozo: A Mediator of Jusisprudential Thought in the 1920's and 1930's
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