UNIVERSIDAD COOPERATIVA DE COLOMBIA

“Profesionales con Criterios Políticos”

Villavicencio – Meta – Colombia
Faculty of Law
English I – Group – 1210 – Technical reading II

Name: _______________________________ Code: __________ Date ______________

WHAT’S JURISPRUDENCE?
I
To build up solid foundations in the world of jurispruedence, it’s important to begin by getting
familiar with definitions. The word jurisprudence, for instance, derives from the Latin
term juris prudential. It means "the study, knowledge, or science of law." Jurisprudence
commonly means the philosophy of law.
II
Legal philosophy has many aspects, but four of them are the most common. The first and the
most prevalent form of jurisprudence seeks to analyze, explain, classify, and criticize
entire bodies of law. The second type of jurisprudence compares and contrasts law with
other fields of knowledge such as literature, economics, religion, and the social sciences. The
third type of jurisprudence seeks to reveal the historical, moral, and cultural basis of a particular
legal concept. The fourth body of jurisprudence focuses on finding the answer to such abstract
questions as What is law? How do judges (properly) decide cases?
III
Apart from different types of jurisprudence, different schools of jurisprudence exist. Formalism,
or conceptualism, for example, treats law like math or science. Formalists believe that a judge
identifies the relevant legal principles, applies them to the facts of a case, and logically deduces
a rule that will govern the outcome of the dispute. In contrast, proponents of legal realism
believe that most cases beforecourts present hard questions that judges must resolve by balancing
the interests of the parties and ultimately drawing an arbitrary line on one side of the dispute.
IV
There are no bright lines between different schools of jurisprudence. The legal philosophy of a
particular legal scholar may consist of a combination of strains from many schools of legal
thought. Some scholars think that it is more appropriate to think about jurisprudence as a
continuum.
V
The above mentioned schools of legal thoughts are only part of a diverse jurisprudential picture
of the United States. Other prominent schools of legal thought exist. Critical legal
studies, feminist jurisprudence, law and economics, utilitarianism, and legal pragmatism are but a
few of them.
Vocabulary for the written test

Foundations: Fundamentos DDispute: Disputa, pleito

Plead: Alegar Facts of a case: Hechos de un caso
Govern: Governar
Sue : Demandar
Legal rinciples: Principios legales
Verdict : Veredicto S
Acquit : Absolver
Lawsuit : Juicio

Teacher William Céspedes