Question

Core claim of realist is that judges respond primarily to the stimulus of fact. Whose proposition is this?

• A. Karl Llewellyn
• B. Brian Leiter
• C. Jerome Frank
• D. Oliver Wendel Holmes

Hint:

Brian Leiter is highly regarded for his work on reconstructing and philosophical defense of American Legal Realism using modern naturalistic frameworks.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The question asks us to identify the specific philosopher or jurist who characterized the core claim of Legal Realism as judges responding "primarily to the stimulus of fact."

Step 2: Key Concepts and Approach:
Legal Realism emphasizes empirical observation of judicial decision-making.
We must identify who synthesized and formulated this modern philosophical description of American Legal Realism.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:

• Brian Leiter's Naturalized Jurisprudence: Brian Leiter, a contemporary legal philosopher, reconstructed American Legal Realism in his work "Naturalizing Jurisprudence."

• Stimulus of Fact: Leiter argued that realists are best understood as descriptive theorists who hold that judicial decisions are predictable based on the unique factual situations of each case, rather than formal legal rules.

• Contrast with Traditional Realists: While Karl Llewellyn and Jerome Frank were key historical figures of the movement, Leiter provided the modern philosophical articulation of their core claim as a form of "naturalized" response to factual stimuli.

• Fact-Centric Adjudication: This theory posits that judges first react to the raw facts of a case and then find legal rules to rationalize their intuitive decisions.

Step 4: Final Answer:
The specific formulation of this core claim is attributed to Brian Leiter. Hence, Option B is correct.