facts, the interpretation of law or the exercise of a discretion. Thus there are
four tasks:
(1)
Applying law to facts.
(2)
Establishing facts. In litigation facts are proved by evidence. In
transactions facts are created by transactions.
(3)
Interpreting law.
(4)
Exercising discretions.
Applying Law to Facts
Columns 1 and 2 of the model represent the process of applying laws to
facts.
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Each element in the conditional statement created by the rules
stipulates a required fact -
this is a fact that must be present in a set of facts
for the rule to apply to it. The process of applying law to facts involves logical
deduction in the form of a syllogism.
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It takes the following form:
Major Premise
Facts in the categories designated by Elements 1-n cause
Consequences 1-n.
Minor Premise
The facts in this case, Facts 1-n, fall within these categories.
Conclusion
Therefore Facts 1-n cause Consequences 1-n.
Figure 17.3 Syllogism for Applying Law to Facts
Establishing Facts
Facts 1-n need to be established. In litigation Facts 1-n are proved by
Evidence 1-n.
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In a transaction Facts 1-n are created by Processes 1-n.
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Litigation
In litigation there may be an issue of fact. Which version of Fact X is correct?
The plaintiff alleges Fact XP while the defendant alleges Fact XD to be
correct. As is explained in discussion of the model for litigation, this issue can
be explained by expanding part of the model.
Facts are proved by evidence. This process entails three steps, which in
summary are as follows:
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#
Step 1 Versions of Truth. Each party presents their version of
truth to the court by way of evidence.
#
Step 2 Probability of
Truth. Once evidence is presented, the
crucial question for the court (or other decision maker) is one of probability.
When all the evidence is considered, how probable is it that each version of
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Chapter 20 Model for Applying Law
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Christopher Enright Legal Reasoning Chapter 5 Deduction
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Chapters 21-25
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Chapter 19 Model for Transactions
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Chapters 21-25
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