2019/2020
Holger Spamann, Ph.D., S.J.D.
Lawrence R. Grove Professor of Law
Harvard Law School
Born in 1974 in Hamburg, Germany
Studied Law at the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and the University of Hamburg, and Law and Economics at Harvard University
Project
A Model of Law
My project aims to construct a mathematical, positive model of law's binding force on judges. The model has three simple ingredients, all of which are widely accepted, fundamental elements of human behavior. I expect this model to clarify and unify divergent theories in legal theory and to reconcile a strong binding force of the law in most circumstances with well-known troublesome facts such as partisan judging on the US Supreme Court. It will generate new testable hypotheses regarding questions such as the role of legal education in imparting priors on legal (in)determinacy. I hope it will connect legal theorists and social scientists.Recommended Reading
Spamann, Holger. "Monetary Liability for Breach of the Duty of Care?" Journal of Legal Analysis 8, 2 (2016): 337-373.
-. "Justice is Less Blind, and Less Legalistic, than We Thought: Evidence from an Experiment with Real Judges." The Journal of Legal Studies 45, 2 (2016): 255-280.
-. "Empirical Comparative Law." Annual Review of Law and Social Science 1 (2015): 131-153.
Publications from the Fellows' Library
Spamann, Holger (
Cambridge, Mass.,
2016)
Monetary liability for breach of the duty of care?
Spamann, Holger (
Chicago, Ill.,
2016)
Justice is less blind, and less legalistic, than we thought : evidence from an experiment with real judges
Spamann, Holger (
Palo Alto, Calif.,
2015)
Empirical comparative law