Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

1983

Abstract

The author is pleased to see the publication of A Lawyer Looks at Abortion because legal scholars have much to contribute to the understanding of public questions. Lay readers too often receive distorted impressions of legal issues from the media, and those who understand the system best are frequently too busy writing for the legal community to contribute to popular literature. Yet it is legal scholars who are best equipped to make the intricacies of law accessible to lay persons by defining and explaining legal terms and doctrine and by examining the reasoning found in relevant judicial decisions. Lawyers are also trained in the art of advocacy, and legal scholars can construct able and persuasive arguments on behalf of legal policies and positions. Finally, as trainers of law students in the mental gymnastics of advocacy, legal scholars are uniquely experienced to expose readers to the competing policies, doctrines, and philosophies that frequently make controversial public issues excruciatingly difficult legal questions.

Publication Citation

48 Mo. L. Rev. 284 (1983) (reviewing Lynn D. Wardle & Mary A. Wood, A Lawyer Looks at Abortion (1982)).

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