At the 2023 Association of American Law Schools meeting, Justice Sotomayor called on lawyers and legal scholars to embrace legal history as a narrative device in their briefs, arguments, and scholarship. In response to the conservative bench's (mis)use of originalism, history, according to Justice Sotomayor, can be a powerful corrective force. Using the rise of fascism in Europe and the United States as a case study, Critical Legal History will develop your understanding of history as it relates to lawmaking. We will explore the meaning of truth and the role of historical causation, and will interrogate history, social science, and anecdotes as forms of evidence in the courtroom and in brief writing.
