Law and Magic Blog

Nigerian Government Gains Wizardly Allies In Fight Against Boko Haram

Check out this piece from Vice on the Association of Nigerian Witches and Wizards (WIZTAN), which is fighting back against Boko Haram. According to reporter Mark Hay, WIZTAN has made some predictions about ultimate success against Boko Haram, the group known for abduction of schoolgirls and for attacks on the Nigerian government. These predictions include the capture of the group's leader by the end of 2014 and (it looks like WIZTAN is hedging its bets a little here) that not all the abducted schoolgirls will be freed and returned to their families. 

Wizarding at Law School

I have just come across this piece, which looks like grist for this blog's mill.

Darby Dickerson, Texas Tech University School of Law, has published Professor Dumbledore's Advice for Law Deans, in volume 39 of the University of Toledo Law Review (2008). Here is the abstract.

This article, prepared for the Dean's Symposium in the University of Toledo Law Review, includes a curriculum vitae for Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the modern age, along with seven pieces of advice for law deans, culled from Dumbledore's words of wisdom and actions in the Harry Potter series.

 

Gerald Uelmen and the Lawyer/Magician Analogy

Gerald Uelmen of Santa Clara University Law School writes here about the importance of exhausting federal due process claims at trial by intoning "magic words." He says, "I frequently compare trial lawyers to wizards who must recite precise magical incantations before they wave their magic wands and attempt to make evidence disappear." 

Of course, he is talking here about wizards like Merlin and Harry Potter, and I must point out that as far as I know, there are no such beings in the real world. What's also interesting is the assumption, common in popular culture, that these wizards must 1) pronounce magic words and 2) wave magic wands in order to obtain a particular result. I'd be interested to know what might happen if they left out one or the other. In law, we know. Generally speaking, the lawyer must 1) speak the words and 2) perform the act (for example, speak the words in the correct order or at the correct time or in the correct place). See also my prior post on getting exhibits admitted.

Secular magicians, by contrast, make objects disappear, but not permanently. When a lawyer "attempts to make evidence disappear," as in Professor Uelmen's examples, she wants it to disappear completely. If she gets the outcome she wants, it will no longer have any effect (or should have no effect) on the outcome of the trial. Lawyers and judges actually do have great powers, by their agreement, by our agreement, and through use of these magical words.

The Law Under Lord Voldemort

An analysis of law (or the lack of it) in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I" written by Nick Moline here. Mr. Moline takes up wizarding law in the film, rather than the book, and begins,

In Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter finds himself Undesirable No. 1, a fugitive of the law, as the government of the Wizarding World has been taken over by the evil Lord Voldemort. This is not the first time that Harry has found himself at odds with Wizarding Law. In honor of the movie, I am going to look at the laws and legal system of Harry’s world. So, let’s hop aboard the Hogwarts Express to take our introductory course in Wizarding Law at Hogwarts.

Harry Potter Fans, Ancient Practitioners Blamed For Dropping Owl Populations

The Hollywood Reporter notes that India's owl population is at risk, apparently due both to the popularity of "Harry Potter" and tantric practice. Those who want to emulate J. R. Rowling's famous character want their own live pet bird, and those who want owl parts, want, well, dead ones. Animal rights groups are upset. More here from the BBC.

Magic and Money In "Harry Potter"

Eric J. Gouvin, Western New England Law School, has published The Magic of Money and Banking, in Harry Potter and the Law (Jeffrey E. Thomas and Franklin D. Snyder eds.; Carolina Academic Press, 2010). Here is the abstract.

 

Creating money out of thin air is one of the few truly magical things Muggles are capable of, which makes it odd that J.K. Rowling did not include a more thoughtful discussion of banking in her Harry Potter books. Indeed, the banking system in the wizarding world seems quite rudimentary -- more like the safe deposit business than true banking. Nevertheless, Muggle bankers and magical bankers face similar problems relating to security and money laundering and they have developed regulatory strategies to deal with those problems.

The full text is not available from SSRN. Support the economy, magicians, and Muggles; buy the book!

Harry Potter and the Magic Disappearing Tort(e)

Scott Hershovitz, University of Michigan Law School, has published Harry Potter and the Trouble with Tort Theory, forthcoming in the Stanford Law Review. Here is the abstract.

 

Economists argue that tort law promotes an efficient allocation of resources to safety, while philosophers contend that it dispenses corrective justice. Despite the divide, the leading tort theories share something in common: They are grounded in an unduly narrow view of tort. Both economists and philosophers confuse the institution of tort law with the rules that are distinctive of it. They offer theories of tort’s substantive rules, but for the most part ignore the procedures by which those rules are implemented. As a consequence, both miss and misconstrue much about tort law.

The problem is particularly acute for economists. They analyze the impact of tort’s substantive rules on accident and accident avoidance costs. Yet, the institution of tort law generates many other costs and benefits for society, and those costs and benefits affect the optimal arrangement of tort’s rules. The fact that economists have not factored these additional costs and benefits into their analyses calls into question their descriptive and normative claims about tort.

Corrective justice theory is not in as much trouble as the economic approach, but it is troubled still. Philosophers’ neglect of the procedural dimension of tort has caused them to overlook ways that tort does justice between wrongdoers and victims. And it has led them to make misleading claims about the nature of both corrective justice and tort law.

This article draws out the trouble with tort theory through a thought experiment, starring Harry Potter. Potter’s magic helps to highlight the features of tort that the leading theories overlook. Once they are in view, the article considers the ways in which the omissions cast doubt on the claims those theories make, investigates ways they might improved, and offers several observations about the choice between them.

I won't make any bad puns about reforming tort law being a cakewalk. Download the article from SSRN at the link.