John Henry Wigmore and the Rules of Evidence: The Hidden Origins of Modern Law (Studies in Constitutional Democracy Book 1)

by Andrew Porwancher

Honorable Mention, 2017 Scribes Book Award, The American Society of Legal WritersAt the dawn of the twentieth century, the United States was reeling from the effects of rapid urbanization and industrialization. Time-honored verities proved obsolete, and intellectuals in all fields sought ways to make sense of an increasingly unfamiliar reality. The legal system in particular began to buckle under the weight of its anachronism. In the midst of this crisis, John Henry Wigmore, dean of Northwestern University School of Law, single-handedly modernized the jury trial with his 1904–1905 Treatise on evidence, an encyclopedic work that dominated the conduct of trials. In so doing, he inspired generations of progressive jurists—among them Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Benjamin Cardozo, and Felix Frankfurter—to reshape American law to meet the demands of a new era. Yet Wigmore’s role as a prophet of modernity has slipped into obscurity. This book provides a radical reappraisal of his place in the birth of modern legal thought.

236 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 30, 2017

Reviews

[Jerry Edward Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone on the Startrek movie series exclaimed colloquially: "They be giants." Well, Scotty did see giants before him. For those of us interested in the law and legal history, we can readily identify and name real giants as well. There are, after all, Arthur Corbin and Samuel Williston in the formulation of American contract law; there is John Chipman Gray in the development of American property law; and there is Christopher Langdell in the growth of American legal education. Not to be overlooked, as well, is John Henry Wigmore in the formulation of the rules of evidence as applied to legal matters and proceedings. Wigmore had a terribly interesting legal career as well. He was truly an intellectual in the law from his years studying and teaching law in Japan at the beginning of his professional career to the deanship of the School of Law at Northwestern University. Andrew Porwancher, professor of classics and letters at the University of Oklahoma, may at first glance seem an unlikely authority on the history of American legal rules of evidence. He has, however, established himself as a noted scholar on constitutional law. The central thesis of the book is that Wigmore's legal scholarship "helped catalyze a new era in American law." Wigmore helped direct American law into a process and search for the truth in legal processes. This book should be read by everyone interested in the development and history of American law.