On Holmes' View Of Justice

Holmes is a great sage in American legal theory and judicial circles.In his career as a judge,he has written more than 2,000 judicial opinions.His judicial concepts and legal thoughts have far-reaching influence in American judicial circles.Holmes’ Judicial concept is based on the philosophy of pragmatism.He believes that law is developed and constantly changing based on long-term social practice and historical accumulation.The interpretation of the Constitution should be in line with the development trend of the times,which highlights Holmes’ distinctive legal reformism.He rejected the metaphysical point of view,claiming that the law is not the objective and inevitable of human society as stated by the natural law thought,but a prediction of the court’s weighing the interests of competing different groups.Law is instrumental,depends on actual needs,and is reflected in concrete in practice,this highlights Holmes’ distinctive pragmatist judicial concept.The theory behind the law is the first consideration by the legislator rather than the judge.The judiciary cannot be a super-legislature to judge whether the policy decision of the legislature in the local economic field is correct.The judge should follow the existing precedents and existing legislation to enforce the law who can only be confined in the gaps that have no precedents to make rulings based on legal principles,which highlights Holmes’ judicial restraint and judicial view.These judicial views are fully reflected in the cases of Lochner v.New York and Abrams v.United States etc.In the monograph ‘The Common Law’,Holmes puts forward the classic conclusion that ‘the life of law is not logic,but experience’,but as a legal pragmatist,he emphasizes the empirical role of history and social policy in the development of law.He also focuses on the establishment of legal abstraction,the logical system of concepts and the application of logic in legal practice.Holmes’ judicial concept has important reference significance for the construction of the rule of law in contemporary China.As a member of the legal professional community,judges should not only use the legal provisions mechanically,but also understand the principles behind the provisions in conjunction with social relations.In the cases that without specific legal provisions,it is particularly important to conduct comprehensive valuejudgments and balance of interests.We should also analyze and accurately grasp the relationship between judicial humility and judicial initiative,legal existence and social existence,procedural justice and substantive justice in the context of the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics to ensure the scientific operation of the judicial process.Also,we should also recognize the limitations of Holmes’ legal thought.The view that law is a predictive shows a subjective idealism tendency.Doubts everything is easy falling into unrecognizable paradoxes,focusing only on appearance and ignoring the value of law,resulting the function of law on social relations cannot be maximized.