Decision by rule has genuine virtues that formalism deserves credit for.

Evidence

Once we disentangle and examine the various strands of formalism and recognize the way in which formalism, rules, and language are conceptually intertwined, it turns out that there is something, indeed much, to be said for decision according to rule-and therefore for formalism. — Frederick Schauer, Formalism, 10

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes Schauer’s broader project in Playing by the Rules defending rule-based decisionmaking against ad-hoc balancing. — connects to: Rules allocate decisions to the present while standards hold them open for the future — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 354; Formalism is a central and distinctive feature of law — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 54; Once we disentangle and examine the various strands of formalism and recognize the way in which formalism, rules, and language are conceptually intertwined, it turns out that there is something, indeed much, to be said for decision according to rule—and therefore for formalism. (+4 more)

Related

• Once we disentangle and examine the various strands of formalism and recognize the way in which formalism, rules, and language are conceptually intertwined, it turns out that there is something,… (similarity 0.92)
• Yet Professor Schauer argues that this aversion to formalism should be rethought At times language both can and should restrict decisionmakers. Consequently, the term formalistic should not be… (similarity 0.88)
• Formalism’s refusal to consider variable factors is what gives rules their force. (similarity 0.87)
• The pejorative connotations of the word formalism, in concert with the lack of agreement on the word’s descriptive content, make it tempting to conclude that formalist is the adjective used to… (similarity 0.87)
• Formalism is a central and distinctive feature of law (similarity 0.86)
• Formalism disguises the need for judicial choice by freezing rule meaning (similarity 0.83)
• Formalism answers legal questions by pedigree, not by what works. (similarity 0.80)
• Formalism is treating as inexorable any choice that is not. (similarity 0.80)
• Rules that always yield to rule-free optimization cease to function as rules (similarity 0.79)
• Nominalist legal theory reduces to an attack on mechanical jurisprudence (similarity 0.78)
• Rules allocate decisions to the present while standards hold them open for the future (similarity 0.78)
• Reductionist legal theories obscure the diverse functions of rules within a social system (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• In this Article, Professor Schauer examines divergent uses of the term ‘formalism’ to elucidate its descriptive content. Conceptions of formalism, he argues, involve the notion that rules… #expands (0.85)
• Formalism disguises the need for judicial choice by freezing rule meaning #contradicts (0.80) — HLA Hart, The Concept of Law (Clarendon Law…, 370
• Formalism is treating as inexorable any choice that is not. #contradicts (0.70) — Frederick Schauer, Formalism, 34