Archiwum
Filozofii Prawa
i Filozofii Społecznej

Journal of the Polish Section of IVR (ISSN:2082-3304)

IVR
  • About us
  • Aim & scope
  • News
  • Issues
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
  • Editorial board
    • Board Members
    • Reviewers
  • For authors
  • Ethics
  • Contact
  • Polski

Lawyers’ Role Models on the Example of ‘Monkey Trial’ in Stanley Kramer’s Film ‘Inherit the Wind’

Prof. UG dr hab. Tomasz Widłak

University of Gdańsk

Abstract: The article analyses the film Inherit the Wind, directed by Stanley Kramer in 1960, according to a screenplay inspired by events of the so-called Scopes monkey trial, which took place in 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee (US). The filmmakers recreated fairly freely the motive of the controversial ‘trial of the century’, offering the viewers an allegory of political events of the 1950s instead of historical accuracy. At the same time, it was a universal essay on the consequences of institutionalization of ideological and religious fundamentalism. The timeless appeal of Kramer’s motion picture can also be seen in the context of his positive commitment to legal ethics. The plot of the film is a clash of legal professionals, whose personalities are similar to two outstanding lawyers who actually participated in the monkey trial: William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. Kramer’s film presents a positive role model of a lawyer, that is, defence counsel Drummond, contrasting him with the antihero: a lawyer and politician supporting the prosecution, called Brady. The film personalities of Drummond and Brady are reconstructed from the point of view of virtue ethics, using exemplarist moral theory by Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski, which enables giving a fuller picture of the created personages than in case of a deontic assessment of the moral validity of their individual acts.

Keywords: exemplarism, virtue ethics, legal ethics, virtue jurisprudence, monkey trial

Language: Polish

Published: Number 1(26)/2021, s. 33-44.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36280/AFPiFS.2021.1.33

Download: Download
Number of downloads: 192

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: exemplarism, legal ethics, monkey trial, Tomasz Widłak, virtue ethics, virtue jurisprudence

Judges’ Virtues and Vices: Outline of a Research Agenda for Legal Theory

Prof. UG dr hab. Tomasz Widłak

University of Gdańsk

Abstract: This article focuses on the issue of applicability of virtue theory to legal theory in civil-law (statutory) jurisdictions and suggests research areas and problems in that respect. The author starts with an assumption that the notion of “virtue” and virtue ethics should be used for the purposes of legal theory starting from references to judicial ethics and normative theory of judicial decision-making. This approach looks especially promising for the purpose of systematizing the chaotic moral language that is being currently used in Poland in reference to judges, their skills, and qualities of their character, which in turn may lead to formulating an explanatory and normative theory of the judicial role that better addresses the observable deficiencies of legal deontology. The author suggests research that could proceed from interpretatively uncovering what are believed to be specific judicial virtues and vices, considering different aspects of the wider Polish and European legal culture of civil law countries (included but not limited to legal and ethical standards, public discourse, legal and other literature, historical and fictional examples, and role models). With respect to judicial ethics, existing virtue theories, including non-eudaimonistic ones, may be examined for the purpose of identifying the model of virtue best suited to the particular nature of the judicial profession. The aretaic (rather than deontological or consequentialist) perspective may enable legal scholarship to take a new path in the debate on the status and qualities of the judiciary, including the problems relating to judicial independence and the selection of candidates for judicial offices.

Keywords: virtue, virtue ethics, aretaic theory, judicial virtues, juristic virtues, virtue jurisprudence, judicial character

Language: English

Received: 31.05.2019
Accepted:
02.12.2019

Published: Number 2(20)/2019, pp. 51-62.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36280/AFPiFS.2019.2.51

Download file: Download
Number of downloads: 404

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: aretaic theory, judicial character, judicial virtues, juristic virtues, Tomasz Widłak, virtue, virtue ethics, virtue jurisprudence

Szukaj

Categories

  • Articles
  • Bez kategorii
  • Editorial
  • In Memoriam
  • News
  • Reports
  • Reviews and discussions

Keywords

regulation of liberty Chaïm Perelman transplants individual and political freedom libertinism statement of reasons for a court judgment Michał Krotoszyński theory of democracy operative legal interpretation Agnieszka Bielska-Brodziak legal values social industry justification of punishment just war legal consciousness personalistic dialogue instrumentalization of law legal multicentrism minority rights legal protection of animals philosophy of law deliberative public philosophy court decisions extra legem gap nostalgia judicial election weighing the rightness aims of rule of law judicial precedent factual knowledge sociological jurisprudence grammatical problems Kant democracy scholarly interpretation second-order observation interpretation methodologically creative electoral campaign ritual typology of instrumentalization acts spirit of law michał peno animal rights intellectual property infringement Systems Theory Monika Zalewska American jurisprudence Piotr Winczorek political transformation of society and public institutions derivative concept of legal interpretation

Copyright © 2023 Polska Sekcja Międzynarodowego Stowarzyszenia Filozofii Prawa i Filozofii Społecznej IVR | Administrator strony: Karolina Gmerek

Ta strona używa plików cookies. Zakładamy, że wyrażają Państwo na to zgodę, ale mogą Państwo także wyłączyć pliki cookies w Ustawieniach. //
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. (Zob. więcej // Read more) Ustawienia // SettingsZGODA // ACCEPT

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT