Herman Oliphant
Encyclopedia
Herman Oliphant was a professor of law. He started at the University of Chicago
, going to Columbia University
in 1922. Shortly after arriving there, he wrote to the university's president, Nicholas Murray Butler, outlining some plans he had for reorganizing the curriculum of the law school. Essentially, his goal was to transform the school into a research center, placing particular emphasis on the interaction of the law and other social sciences. Under the administration of Huger Jervey, who became dean of the law school in 1924, Oliphant's plans were used as the basis for a reorganization of the law school.
In his 1928 inaugural address as President of the American Association of Law School, Herman Oliphant said: "Our case material is a gold mine for scientific work. It has not been scientifically exploited... We should critically examine all the methods now used in any of the social sciences and having any useful degree of objectivity."
In 1932 he was co-author with Theodore S. Hope Jr.
of "Study of Day Calendars" 1932, an in-depth look into how time effects trial cases.
Oliphant later went on to teach at Johns Hopkins University
, and later became the chief counsel of the United States Treasury Department, serving in that capacity from 1934 to 1939. While serving in that position, he was regarded as an economic experimenter, and was the prime advocate of the Undistributed profits tax
.
While at the Treasury Department, he was lobbied by William Randolph Hearst
to make cannabis
illegal. Hearst had recently become heavily involved in synthetics based on petroleum hydrocarbons, and wanted to quash efforts from competing companies to make similar products from hemp seed oil.
He is generally regarded as a representative of American legal realism
and is famous for his statement that the principle of stare decisis
is no longer applicable. Although the approach could be implemented in a time when society was relatively simply structured, in the present age it should be abandoned. To this effect, Oliphant pleaded a scientific approach. In his opinion, the way a judge deals with a case can be qualified as a stimulus-response
situation, in the sense that the judge reacts to the stimulus of the case brought to his attention.
He died suddenly in 1939 because of heart disease at the age of 54.
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, going to Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1922. Shortly after arriving there, he wrote to the university's president, Nicholas Murray Butler, outlining some plans he had for reorganizing the curriculum of the law school. Essentially, his goal was to transform the school into a research center, placing particular emphasis on the interaction of the law and other social sciences. Under the administration of Huger Jervey, who became dean of the law school in 1924, Oliphant's plans were used as the basis for a reorganization of the law school.
In his 1928 inaugural address as President of the American Association of Law School, Herman Oliphant said: "Our case material is a gold mine for scientific work. It has not been scientifically exploited... We should critically examine all the methods now used in any of the social sciences and having any useful degree of objectivity."
In 1932 he was co-author with Theodore S. Hope Jr.
Emily & Theodore Hope Forest
The Emily & Theodore Hope Forest is a permanent forest reservation located in Danbury, New Hampshire.-History:In 1987, Theodore S. Hope, Jr. and his wife Emily Blanchard Hope, who retired to Danbury after practicing corporate law in New York City for over 50 years, donated of land to the New...
of "Study of Day Calendars" 1932, an in-depth look into how time effects trial cases.
Oliphant later went on to teach at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, and later became the chief counsel of the United States Treasury Department, serving in that capacity from 1934 to 1939. While serving in that position, he was regarded as an economic experimenter, and was the prime advocate of the Undistributed profits tax
Undistributed profits tax
The Undistributed Profits Tax was enacted in 1936 by the United States administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt , during the Great Depression . The UP Tax was a revenue program for FDR's New Deal. The act was controversial even within FDR's United States Treasury Department, as some noted...
.
While at the Treasury Department, he was lobbied by William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
to make cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
illegal. Hearst had recently become heavily involved in synthetics based on petroleum hydrocarbons, and wanted to quash efforts from competing companies to make similar products from hemp seed oil.
He is generally regarded as a representative of American legal realism
Legal realism
Legal realism is a school of legal philosophy that is generally associated with the culmination of the early-twentieth century attack on the orthodox claims of late-nineteenth-century classical legal thought in the United States...
and is famous for his statement that the principle of stare decisis
Stare decisis
Stare decisis is a legal principle by which judges are obliged to respect the precedents established by prior decisions...
is no longer applicable. Although the approach could be implemented in a time when society was relatively simply structured, in the present age it should be abandoned. To this effect, Oliphant pleaded a scientific approach. In his opinion, the way a judge deals with a case can be qualified as a stimulus-response
Stimulus (physiology)
In physiology, a stimulus is a detectable change in the internal or external environment. The ability of an organism or organ to respond to external stimuli is called sensitivity....
situation, in the sense that the judge reacts to the stimulus of the case brought to his attention.
He died suddenly in 1939 because of heart disease at the age of 54.
Literature
- Herman Oliphant, 'A Return to Stare Decisis', in American Bar Association Journal 14 (1928).