Arguments and Stories in Legal Reasoning: The Case of Evidence Law

Gianluca Andresani, Tony Ward

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Abstract

We argue that legal argumentation, as the subject matter as well as a special subfield of Argumentation Studies (AS), has to be examined by making skilled use of the full panoply of tools such as argumentation and story schemes which are at the forefront of current work in AS. In reviewing the literature, we make explicit our own methodological choices (particularly regarding the place of normative deliberation in practical reasoning) and then illustrate the implications of such an approach through the analysis of a case study in the English law of evidence. We argue that a clear distinction must be drawn between practical argumentation and stories. Because of the institutional separation between legal judgment and fact-finding in common-law jury trials, we argue for the combination of argument and story-based analysis.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)75-90
Number of pages16
JournalArchiv fur Rechts- und Sozialphilosophie
Volume106
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2020

Keywords

  • Argumentation schemes
  • Argumentation studies
  • Evidential argumentation
  • Expert evidence
  • Legal reasoning
  • Narrative coherence

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