Universals of Legal Reasoning by Judges

Universals in Legal Reasoning by Judges explores and expounds the usage of rules to justify judicial decisions. It argues for judicial transparency and candour to enhance the persuasiveness and efficacy of judicial precedents, to foster democratic legitimacy, and to permit political accountability.

Thomas Lundmark earned a bachelor's degree (AB) after studying comparative literature in San Diego and Uppsala; a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the University of California, Berkeley; and, having studied as a Fulbright Scholar at Freiburg, the degree Doktor der Rechte (Dr jur) from the University of Bonn.
Lundmark practised law in California and served three years as a Fulbright Senior Professor at the Universities of Bonn and Rostock. He is emeritus Professor of Common Law and Legal Theory at the University of Münster and presently holds the HK Bevan Chair in Law at the University of Hull.

1: Introduction and Definitions
2: Making, Finding, Applying, and Justifying
3: Political Judging
4: Rules from Statutes and Cases
5: Textual Argument
6: Historical Argument
7: Purposive Argument
8: System-Contextual Argument
9: A Plea for Transparency and Candour