Legal Realism

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LEGAL REALISM
Legal realism is one of the schools of legal philosophy. Legal realism, as a school of thought, challenges the orthodox claims of the classical legal thought. Under the classical thought, the law is seen as an autonomous system of principles and rules that can be applied by courts to reach proper decisions with judicial legal background CITATION Fis93 \p p.32 \l 2057 (Schlegel p.32).The realists strongly maintain that adjudication of common law is a subjective system that is bound to produce inconsistent results. Common law eliminates objectivity; the judges` makes decisions based on their moral, social and political affiliations. It is the duty of every citizen to abide by the law and take it upon him/herself to report those who break the law. In his sociological theory of relativity, Donald Black claims that social variables not only make significant influence in the legal decision making process but that legal decisions and outcomes are significantly determined by social factors. The idea of equality before the law requires that, all legal cases with similar facts be decided in a similar, no discriminate manner CITATION Fis93 \p p.34 \l 2057 (Schlegel p.34). This legal standard is not always realized and the legal decision making process is affected by the incorporation of social variables. Discrimination is a crucial issue worth analysis when one talks about analysis of human rights. The law should apply equally irrespective of one`s political or social standing. This is better said than done as judicial decisions have been found to be discriminating in many cases. Discrimination is a problem that always arises in relation to equality before the law. There is a lot of discussion on discrimination yet much of this is irrational analysis and poor understanding of the aforesaid concept CITATION Bon01 \p p.10 \l 2057 (Berry p.10). It is with no doubt that human beings are not equal in all aspects. Every individual is different from the other in a unique way, be it mental or physical attributes. These differences sometimes lead to acts that manifest as forms of discrimination CITATION Bon01 \p p.5 \l 2057 (Berry p.5). There are truly many situations where one individual should be treated in a different manner from the other as a child is subjected to different duties from those of the adult. According to the demands of the Rule of Law, individuals should be protected from any arbitrary power as well as enjoy equal privilege and protection of the law CITATION Fra07 \p p.1 \l 2057 (Trindade p.1). This is a principle that judicial systems have always tried to achieve and maintain. However, social variables that are always underestimated and considered as less relevant in case facts are influencing the legal decision making process. This influence is creating a judicial system that favors some individuals or parties in expense or over others. The result is a contradi...