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- Title
IDEOLOGY, SCHOLARSHIP, AND SOCIOLEGAL CHANGE: LESSONS FROM GALANTER AND THE "LITIGATION CRISIS".
- Authors
Nelson, Robert L.
- Abstract
This essay probes certain issues by critically examining interpretations of the civil litigation system contained in Marc Galanter's book "Reading the Landscape" and those offered by proponents of the hyperlexis version. A prominent feature of the landscape of American sociolegal research is Marc Galanter's scholarship on the civil justice system. The empirical question at the core of Galanter's analysis in his book is whether the U.S. currently has high rates of disputing and litigation compared to earlier historical periods or other societies. In Galanter's presidential address to the Law and Society Association shortly after the publication of the litigation explosion article, he called attention to "the emergence of new knowledge about law," not only in the form of increasing amounts of law and society research, but also the expansion of legal journalism and the greater willingness of legal actors to discuss practices previously considered confidential. Strong messages in the debate over the litigation explosion for sociolegal research pertains to the organization of the enterprise itself. As scholars one must be constantly sensitive to the potential impact on research results of, who funds the research, who defines the questions to be investigated, and who controls access to the necessary data. In short, one must continually strive to gain more autonomy for empirical research on law.
- Subjects
UNITED States; CIVIL law; READING the Landscape (Book); CIVIL procedure; ACTIONS &; defenses (Law); GALANTER, Marc, 1931-
- Publication
Law & Society Review, 1988, Vol 21, Issue 5, p677
- ISSN
0023-9216
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1017/s0023921600027985