Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841–1935) is generally considered one of the two greatest justices of the United States Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Marshall being the other. In more than 2000 opinions, he delineated an impressive legal philosophy that profoundly influenced American jurisprudence, particularly in the area of civil liberties and judicial restraint. At the same time, his abilities as a prose stylist earned him a position among the literary elite. In The Common Law, derived from a series of lectures delivered at the Lowell Institute in Boston, Holmes systematized his early legal doctrines. The result was an enduring classic of legal philosophy that continues to be read and consulted over a century later. Beginning with historical forms of liability (thought to have originated in the desire for vengeance in ancient Roman and Germanic blood feuds), the book goes on to discuss criminal law, torts, bails, possession and ownership, contracts, successions, and many other aspects of civil and criminal law. Encompassing Holmes's profound, wide-ranging knowledge of the law in its historical aspects, yet written in a manner easily accessible to the layman, The Common Law provoked this observation from another famed jurist; "The book is a classic in the sense that its stock of ideas has been absorbed and become part of common juristic thought … they placed law in a perspective which legal scholarship ever since has merely confirmed." — Felix Frankfurter, Of Law and Men. Now the influential ideas and judicial theory of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. can be studied and appreciated in this superb edition — the only one in print — of his magnum opus. This edition also features a new introduction by Professor Sheldon M. Novick, author of Honorable Justice: The Life of Oliver Wendell Holmes. First published in 1881, this book is still indispensable reading for lawyers, political scientists, historians, general readers — anyone interested in the origins, development, and continuing evolution of the laws that govern human society.

The Common Law

History

Holmes, Jr., Oliver Wendell

Americas

Dover Publications

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841–1935) is ingrained in American history as one of the country's foremost jurists. Distinguished for his learning, judgment, humor, and eloquence, he served as justice of the United States Supreme Court for four decades. Throughout his career, Holmes forged new concepts of the origin and nature of law. He viewed the law as a social instrument rather than as a set of abstract principles, and his ideas were seminal in the development of modern free-speech legislation. His retirement in 1932 was a national event, and he remains today one of the most influential members to have ever served on the Supreme Court. This volume compiles twenty-six of Oliver Wendell Holmes's legal papers and addresses, an important collection of opinions and dissents that touch every field of our national activity and reflect the ongoing development of a democratic society. Included is the famous article "Early English Equity," along with Holmes's essay on "The Path of the Law," which is regarded as the most significant index to his legal work.

The Collected Legal Papers

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

This fine collection is accompanied by an essay by Sir John Pollock that skillfully places the writers' ideas in the perspective of recent experience. A crucial document for lawyers, the letters are also delightful reading.

Holmes–Pollock Letters: The Correspondence of Mr Justice Holmes and Sir Frederick Pollock, 1874–1932, Two Volumes in One, Second Edition (Peabody Museum)

Pollack, Frederick

Legal History

Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press

The Common Law is Oliver Wendell Holmes' most sustained work of jurisprudence. In it the careful reader will discern traces of his later thought as found in both his legal opinions and other writings.  At the outset of The Common Law Holmes posits that he is concerned with establishing that the common law can meet the changing needs of society while preserving continuity with the past. A common law judge must be creative, both in determining the society's current needs, and in discerning how best to address these needs in a way that is continuous with past judicial decisions. In this way, the law evolves by moving out of its past, adapting to the needs of the present, and establishing a direction for the future. To Holmes' way of thinking, this approach is superior to imposing order in accordance with a philosophical position or theory because the law would thereby lose the flexibility it requires in responding to the needs and demands of disputing parties as well as society as a whole.  According to Holmes, the social environment--the economic, moral, and political milieu--alters over time. Therefore, in order to remain responsive to this social environment, the law must change as well. But the law is also part of this environment and impacts it. There is, then, a continual reciprocity between the law and the social arrangements in which it is contextualized. And, as with the evolution of species, there is no starting over. Rather, in most cases, a judge takes existing legal concepts and principles, as these have been memorialized in legal precedent, and adapts them, often unconsciously, to fit the requirements of a particular case and present social conditions.  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) served as chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court and as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nicknamed the "Great Dissenter" because of his many dissenting opinions. Holmes is also the author of Kent's Commentaries on the Law (1873) and "The Path of the Law" (1897).  Tim Griffin has advanced degrees in philosophy and law, and has taught philosophy and legal theory courses at a number of universities. He is currently a seminarian pursuing ordination to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church.

The Common Law (Law and Society Series)

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

Routledge

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Professionals & Academics

Kessinger Publishing

The Path Of The Law

Literature & Fiction

Literary

"The Common Law," a great legal classic, was written by noted Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in 1881. The book is about common law in the United states, including torts, property, contracts, and crime. The substance of "The Common Law" is a series of lectures on the various common law subjects: criminal law, property law, contracts, consideration, torts, negligence, bailments, trespass, etc. What makes this book so important is not that the lectures were a summary of the current state of the law at the time Holmes spoke in 1881, but rather because Holmes insightfully explains how they got to be that way. "The Common Law, " which offers lucid, accessible coverage, from a historical perspective, of liability, criminal law, torts, bail, possession and ownership, contracts, successions, many other aspects of civil and criminal law, is indispensable reading for lawyers, political scientists, and interested general readers. The point of reading "The Common Law" is not so much that Holmes was a great legal historian; rather, it is that he was an influential legal philosopher. Two tenets of early 20th century jurisprudence that Holmes propounded (and was influential in writing into law when he was later appointed to the Supreme Court of Massachussetts, and later of the United States) can be identified in this work: legal positivism and legal realism. Though a little tedious for non-lawyers, "The Common Law" illustrates some interesting points as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. addresses the fluid basis for our legal system.

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

"The Common Law," a great legal classic, was written by noted Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in 1881. The book is about common law in the United states, including torts, property, contracts, and crime. The substance of "The Common Law" is a series of lectures on the various common law subjects: criminal law, property law, contracts, consideration, torts, negligence, bailments, trespass, etc. What makes this book so important is not that the lectures were a summary of the current state of the law at the time Holmes spoke in 1881, but rather because Holmes insightfully explains how they got to be that way. Two tenets of early 20th century jurisprudence that Holmes propounded (and was influential in writing into law when he was later appointed to the Supreme Court of Massachussetts, and later of the United States) can be identified in this work: legal positivism and legal realism. Though a little tedious for non-lawyers, "The Common Law" illustrates some interesting points as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. addresses the fluid basis for our legal system.

Legal Theory & Systems

"The Common Law" from Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1841-1935).

The Common Law (Perfect Library)

This book contains original full version of 252 pages of The Common Law of Oliver Wendell Holmes. The Common Law (also known as case law or precedent) is law developed by judges, courts, and similar tribunals, stated in decisions that nominally decide individual cases but that in addition have precedential effect on future cases. Common law is a third branch of law, in contrast to and on equal footing with statutes which are adopted through the legislative process, and regulations which are promulgated by the executive branch. In cases where the parties disagree on what the law is, a common law court looks to past precedential decisions of relevant courts. If a similar dispute has been resolved in the past, the court is usually bound to follow the reasoning used in the prior decision (a principle known as stare decisis). If, however, the court finds that the current dispute is fundamentally distinct from all previous cases (called a "matter of first impression"), judges have the authority and duty to resolve the issue (one party or the other has to win, and on disagreements of law, judges make that decision). Resolution of the issue in one case becomes precedent that binds future courts. Stare decisis, the principle that cases should be decided according to consistent principled rules so that similar facts will yield similar results, lies at the heart of all common law systems. A "common law system" is a legal system that gives great precedential weight to common law. Common law systems originated during the Middle Ages in England, and from there propagated to the colonies of the British Empire. Today, one third of the world's population live in common law jurisdictions or in systems mixed with civil law.

The Common Law: [Full Original version]

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Books by Holmes, Jr., Oliver Wendell

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The Common Law

The Collected Legal Papers

Holmes–Pollock Letters: The Correspondence of Mr Justice Holmes and Sir Frederick Pollock, 1874–1932, Two Volumes in One, Second Edition (Peabody Museum)

The Common Law (Law and Society Series)

The Common Law

The Path Of The Law

The Common Law

The Common Law

The Common Law (Perfect Library)

The Common Law: [Full Original version]