die Digitale Bibliothek Zentralschweiz. The Common Law

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841–1935) stands as a towering figure in American jurisprudence. An intellectual giant and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1902 to 1932, Holmes' contributions to legal theory and practice are seminal and enduring. Before his appointment to the Supreme Court by President Theodore Roosevelt, Holmes had already garnered acclaim as a legal scholar and a professor at Harvard Law School. His work, 'The Common Law' (1881), remains a fundamental touchstone in the study of American legal history and philosophy. In this iconic text, Holmes articulates the evolutionary nature of judicial decisions and the concept of 'objective jurisprudence.' His insistence that law must respond to changing societal needs and not be bound strictly by precedent paved the way for future legal pragmatism. The son of the esteemed writer and physician Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., the younger Holmes brought a literary flair to his writing, characterized by brevity, wit, and aphoristic precision. His scholarship significantly influenced the development of legal realism and the judicial process in American judicial thought. Holmes' legacy rests not just on his legal philosophy, but also on his service as a Union officer in the Civil War, which profoundly shaped his perspective on the law and civil rights. Following his death, Holmes was celebrated for his intellectual rigor, his contributions to free speech jurisprudence, and his steadfast belief in the merits of a living Constitution.