A Colleague's Observation... Jerome Frank As Prophet: Courts on Trial Revisited Damian L
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University of Baltimore Law Forum Volume 22 Article 3 Number 3 Spring, 1992 1992 A Colleague's Observation... Jerome Frank as Prophet: Courts on Trial Revisited Damian L. Halstad Hoffman, Comfort, Offutt, Scott & aH lstad, LLP Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/lf Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Halstad, Damian L. (1992) "A Colleague's Observation... Jerome Frank as Prophet: Courts on Trial Revisited," University of Baltimore Law Forum: Vol. 22: No. 3, Article 3. Available at: http://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/lf/vol22/iss3/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Baltimore Law Forum by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@University of Baltimore School of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A COLLEAGUE'S OBSERVATION ... JEROME FRANK AS PROPHET: COURTS ON TRIAL REVISITED By Damian L. Halstad, Esquire In 1949, legal philosopher and fed edges, are simply attributable to hu asks, ifthe facts to which we are apply eraljudge Jerome Frank published his man nature. An honest witness may ing the rule are wrong? Further, how most important legal treatise, Courts erroneously observe, recollect, or ar remedial is an appellate court when it On Trial. J Widely received as a com ticulate the facts, or may be uncon too is basically constrained by the fac prehensive and incisive criticism of sciously swayed by subtle subliminal tual findings of the trial court? The our trial courts, the book sought to biases. Further, a dishonest witness short answer is that the justice system eliminate the mystery surrounding the might commit perjury. These mortal must reject these rationalizations and courthouse and propose much needed failings and faulty observations are concentrate on improving fact finding. change to the judicial system. "My then filtered through a second tier of Frank's proposed reforms read like principal aim," Frank wrote in his pref interpretation, the finder of fact a checklist of what plagues the judicial ace, "is to show the major importance (whetherjudge orjury), with their own system today. His recommendations of [trial] courts; how they daily affect similar weaknesses. While Frank con included that courts institute "talking the lives ofthousands of persons; and ceded that no system can overcome movies" of trials; use non-partisan how, most often with tragic results, witnesses who lie, forget, or allow "testimonial experts" called by judges; they do their job in ways that need prejudices to color memory, he also encourage trial judges to actively ex reform." opined that a high percentage of mis amine witnesses; require special edu In the forty-three years since its takes in fact finding actually derive cation for prosecutors - a type of moral debut, Courts On Trial has proven from defects in our methods of getting fitness test emphasizing the obligation remarkably prophetic. The influx of at those facts, such as the adversary of a prosecutor to obtain and bring out television programs with law discussed system, the use of juries, the relative all evidence, including anything ex ostensibly as their subject has removed unaccountability of our fact finders, culpatory; and require similar training much of the mystery from the field of and the inherent advantage enjoyed by of police to guard against "third de law. These programs have shown us the State in criminal prosecutions. gree" interrogations. His most com litigation, negotiation and titillation of Regardless ofthe source of factual prehensive and novel reforms, how all kind. However, Frank's specific mistakes, Frank argued thattheirpreva ever, pertain to legal education, the criticisms of our legal culture remain lence makes it virtually impossible for jury system, and the role of the trial relevant and his proposed reforms have even well-trained lawyers to predict a judge. either been adopted or are again being court's decision in any given case. discussed by judges and bar associa Attorneys, however, find the reality of Legal Education tions throughout the country. It is this subjectivity intolerable, and hence Frank argued that the legal rule and therefore helpful to today's debate to perpetuate two myths to impose order upper-court myths owe their continued review Frank's theory as argued in his on the court system. M)1h Qn.e: Re existence to American legal education. literary tour de force. gardless of the actual facts, a rule of He frequently complained ofthe "neu Frank's fundamental jurisprudence, law exists to dictate the court's deci rotic-escapist" character of contempo a form oflegal realism, can be summa sion. M)1h I.wQ: Even ifthe trial court rary law schools, with their over-em rized in his signature phrase, "facts are renders a bad decision, the appellate phasis on the library, appellate opin guesses." In other words, the Ameri court is a safety net that will itself ions, and legal theory instead of the can justice system frequently fails be apply the correct rule to the facts. Frank reality of practice: cause ofmistakes in fact finding. Many concludes that both fictions are falla of these mistakes, Frank acknowl- cious. What good is a legal rule, he ____________________________ 22.3/fhe Law Forum - 13 The law students are like fu complete record of the dispute, rather railroad company, or that they don't ture horticulturists studying than just analyzing the appellate opin want pretty Nellie Brown to go to jail solely cut flowers; or like fu ion. for killing her husband; and they bring ture architects studying merely Frank also used medical schools as in their general verdict accordingly." pictures of buildings. They a model for proposing a supplement to Cases are decided according to what resemble prospective dog the texts. He advocated frequent visits the jury supposes the law ought to be, breeders who never see any by the law student to both trial and and the jury therefore becomes not thing but stuffed dogs. Per appellate courts. "What would we say only the judge but the legislature in a haps there is a correlation be of a medical school," he wonders, "court house government." Further, tween such stuffed-dog legal "where students were taught surgery the general verdict (guilty ornot guilty, education and the over-pro solely from the printed page?" Like a liable or not liable) hide the jury's duction of stuffed shirts in my resident internship at a hospital, Frank errors by keeping from view their de profession. suggested that law schools operate le liberations. This form of detached legal education gal clinics where students could pro Frank does not condemn jurors for owes its beginning to Harvard Dean, vide free services to those in need this failure. Juries simply do not un Christopher Columbus Langdell, a bril while simultaneously learning the hu derstand what they are told by the liant recluse who rarely went to court man side of the administration ofjus judge about the legal rules. Given that and therefore deluded himself into be tice, including the hazards of jury tri the law is often incomprehensible to lieving that law is a science and a als, how legal rights are affected by attorneys, we obviously ask too much library the laboratory. "What qualifies lost papers, missing witnesses, perjury of the jury. If, by chance, the jury a person to teach law," Langdell wrote, and prejudice, the effects of "fatigue, understands the rules, they still face "is not experience in the work of a graft and laziness," on judges, and real formidable obstacles in ascertaining lawyer's office, not experience in deal draftsmanship. the facts. In addition to the normal ing with men, not experience in the In short, Frank believed students problems highlighted by Frank's fact trialorargurnnentofcauses,notexperi could be taught to read a case in six skepticism,juries often need computer ence in learning law ...." As a result, months. The remainder of the three like memories to assemble and sepa long after Langdell, law students are year law school experience is wasted. rate evidence which may by too eso taught by professors who often know Supporters ofthe Langdell method ar teric or scientific to begin with, and very little about being lawyers. gue that book-law analysis does no must overcome what Frank called the Ironically, the method oflegal train harm, and students will eventually learn ''thirteenth juror" - prejudice. Frank ingthatLangdel1 replaced was, in truth, the real legal facts in practice. Frank concluded that ''there is probably more superior. The colonial law student was effectively dispelled this tepid argu wool-gathering in jury boxes than in essentially an intern; an apprentice who ment by countering that students are any other place on earth." "read law" in the office of a practicing essentially miseducated by receiving As a solution, Frank bluntly pro attorney. He was in daily intimate or forming an erroneous, ivory-tower posed abandoning jury trials except in contact with courts and law offices. impression ofthe ways courts and law major criminal cases. Alternatively, "Before his eyes, legal theories re yers behave. He finally asks, ''what he recommended several changes to ceived constant tests in legal practice." kind of education is it that has to be the jury system, including the special Arguing that the profession was dam undone?" verdict, which compels the jury to make aged by the abandonment of the ap specific findings offact to which a trial prentice system, Frank presented spe The Jury System judge may apply an appropriate rule. cific reforms to improve the curricu For ages the jury system was viewed Frank believed that this would ensure, lum. as the great achievement of English at least to some degree, a reasoned Frank first suggested that most law and American jurisprudence.