From Legal Realism to Law and Society: Reshaping Law for the Last Stages of the Social Activist State

Abstract

This article tells the story of the establishment of the Law and Society Association in the early to mid-1960s. To tell the story, the authors concentrate on the personal stories of the individuals active in that early period and on four university campus sites—the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Denver, Northwestern University, and the University of Wisconsin—at which much of the impetus was focused. They also examine key institutions that funded and/or encouraged links between law and social science—the Russell Sage Foundation, the Walter E. Meyer Research Institute of Law, and the American Bar Foundation. The article seeks also to investigate more generally the factors that came together to build a field of law and social science—which in turn helped to provide the ideas and build the institutions involved in the Johnson administration's War on Poverty. The field was created in part by a process involving both competition and cooperation between law and social science over the new terrain of social problems of racial discrimination, poverty, and crime. The authors suggest that, over time, the center of gravity of the field moved toward law, leaving the social science disciplines for the most part outside. The development of the field generally was also affected by the strong shift in the relative values of these social sciences—especially sociology—in relation to economics in the 1980s.

Hurst, James Willard (1910–97)

“…In 1937, Hurst declined an invitation to teach at Yale, instead choosing to teach at the University of Wisconsin, not far from his hometown. The fact that the law school was connected to the rest of the University appealed to Hurst -it was easy to work together with people in economics, sociology, and ultimately, the history department (Garth and Sterling, 1998). In the course of rejecting the offer from Yale, Hurst wrote to Frankfurter that Wisconsin afforded 'just about an ideal 'laboratory' situation.'…”

Same-Sex Marriage in a Welcoming World: Rights Consciousness of Heterosexuals in Liberal Religious Institutions

“…Sociolegal studies articulate the need to analyze the relationship between law, rights, and social context (Galanter, 2006;Garth and Sterling, 1998). While debate exists about the nature of that relationship and the extent to which rights matter (e.g., McCann, 1996;Rosenberg, 1996), many argue that rights, social context, and consciousness are mutually constitutive (e.g., Ewick and Silbey, 1998;Harrington and Yngvesson, 1990;McCann, 1994;Ygnvesson, 1993).…”

The Impact of Institutional Structures and Power on Law and Society: Is It Time for Reawakening?

“…This is not to say that there have not been tensions or shifts in emphasis on the study of law and society in the United States. Garth and Sterling (1998), in examining the history of the LSA, show that there was a division between two disciplinesFlaw and social scienceFsimilar to the one that existed in England. The bright radicals of the 1960s, many from legal families, were drawn to sociology because of the conservative nature of law.…”

“…academic one (as discussed by Garth & Sterling 1998). It led me to reflect on the nature of law and society research and teaching issues, and whether there are sufficient changes in societies today to anticipate another shift in focus.…”