Private Law Theory

Abstract
This article considers the reception of equity in the law of the United States, and in particular the reception of two ideas: first, a small-scale moral reading of the law, analysed under the rubric of ‘nice adjustment’, and second, a willingness of courts to give direct orders to private parties and government officials, analysed under the rubric of ‘judicial command’. These ideas have had very different careers in the United States. Nice adjustment has faded, while judicial command has been embraced with enthusiasm. This article asks why.

Bray, Samuel L, Equity: Notes on the American Reception (March 20, 2018). Philosophical Foundations of the Law of Equity (OUP), forthcoming.

First posted 2018-03-24 10:27:09