Bringing The Law Down to Earth

The law is not in the clouds if one knows where to look. The Restatement of the Law is the place to start.  "Restatement," so what?  Standing alone this term means nothing to the average individual, but say this to one trained in the law and he or she will probably ask you, "which Restatement of The Law" are you referring too.

Laymen and pro se litigants must take a step back to understand this term or should I say set of legal books.  Now if you want to sound "studied" when talking about these set of law books, please refer to them as a "treatises."

 Wow, now we see why so many are discouraged from becoming knowledgeable about the law, because there are so many definitions to be learned. That's to be expected folks, first and far-most because it is the nature of man.  Think about it, those that follow the Bible know that one of Adams first tasks was to name all the creatures of the earth.  Since that time we have been naming things down to the very Atom it self.

Okay, back to the law.  Wikipedia defines a treatises as: "A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject."

Using this free online source, Wikipedia, one will find that if defines "Restatement of the Law" as:

"In American jurisprudence, the Restatements of the Law are a set of treatises on legal subjects that seek to inform judges and lawyers about general principles of common law. There have been three series of Restatements to date, all published by the American Law Institute, an organization of legal academics and practitioners founded in 1923.

Individual Restatement volumes are essentially codifications of case law, which are common law judge-made doctrines that develop gradually over time because of the principle of stare decisis. Although Restatements of the Law are not binding authority in and of themselves, they are highly persuasive because they are formulated over several years with extensive input from law professors, practicing attorneys, and judges. They are meant to reflect the consensus of the American legal community as to what the law is (and in some cases, what it should become). As Harvard Law School describes the Restatements of the Law:"

The above may suffice and enlighten us laymen and pro se litigants, but to be safe you should also know that Black Law Dictionary, Ninth Edition, Bryan A. Garner defines "Restatement" as: "One of several influential treatises published by the American Law Institute describing the law in a given area and guiding its development."

 The first volumes of these treatises were published from 1923-1944 by the American Law Institute and have been updated since then to keep them current with the ever changing and new developments of the law.  The first sets covered the law as it pertained to various sectors of the law: Agency, Conflict of Laws, Contracts, Judgments, Property, Torts, and Trusts.

Since those early days the volumes have increased as you probably would expect.  Wiki at the link above will provide those needing further details with a list of editions, and current versions. Hey, before you go off to explore the Restatement of the Law let me thank you for stopping by, and please look for future information of this topic.  Those referred by the Gaming Oracle will definitely want to return as the knowledge of this treatises is put into practice with the issues presented within that on going civil action.

Thanks for viewing,

Pro Se HQ