Tuesday, May 27, 2008

On the 100 Most Creative Moments in American Law

Thinking About Law and Creativity: On the 100 Most Creative Moments in American Law, by Robert F. Blomquist, Valparaiso University School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series. Draft article is available here: http://abajournal.com/files/100CreativeMoments.pdf

From the abstract: "In most cultural contexts creativity is viewed as an unalloyed virtue. Law is different: given the inherently conservative and slow-moving pace of legal evolution, innovation in the law is viewed by many observers as problematic. Yet American revolutionaries, constitutionalists, legislators, chief executives, judges, administrators, scholars and activists have creatively changed the law for over two centuries in mostly positive ways with some admittedly questionable innovations. This article makes a bold new proposal - the articulation and ranking of America's most creative legal moments - designed to energize and clarify our synoptic thinking about the nature of legal creativity."