The Restatements descended from the codification movement yet were never binding law
Evidence
The code movement did focus attention on a real problem in the common law—a loose, messy, complex system, hard to get your hands around. Codes were systematic, rational, organized. Could something be done about the defects of the common law? Perhaps. In some ways, the code movement was spiritual parent to the Restatements of the Law. These were black-letter codes, drafted in the twentieth century, and sponsored by the American Law Institute. The Restatement of Contracts, for example, appeared in 1932. Restatements were, in theory, just what the name implied: restatements of the law, mildly progressive, but systematic, organized, and code-like. They were not, of course, actually law. The hope was to persuade judges to follow the doctrines set out in the Restatements. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2358
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: State courts remained free on undecided issues to follow or reject the Restatements — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 4441; Western codification changed legal practice surprisingly little once enacted — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2356; Colonies codified law because the uncodified common law was not packaged for export — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 488 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Oral law’s lack of writing prevented codification and lawyerly authority
#qualifies(0.80) — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 254 - Colonies codified law because the uncodified common law was not packaged for export
#complicates(0.75) — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 488 - Codifications must be neither propagandistic nor puzzle-like to truly decode.
#expands(0.72) — Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 332