JURISMANIA: THE MADNESS OF AMERICAN LAW by Paul F. Campos. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1998. 192 pages. Cloth $23.00. ISBN 0-19-510785-3.

Reviewed by Anthony Champagne, School of Social Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas. E-Mail: tchamp@utdallas.edu.
 

One of the great issues in administrative law deals with the extent to which law should constrain discretion. Paul Campos argues that law in America has become "jurismania." That is, use of law has become so pervasive that it has become a kind of mental illness, one which is both inefficient and irrational.

In this short book, Paul Campos offers a critique of the American legal system Unlike other critics who blame the alleged litigation explosion on everything from lawyer advertising, to elected judges, to out-of-control juries, Campos identifies the problem as being a worship of reason and a belief that all problems can be resolved through the legal process.

The book is a reminder of the limitations of rational inquiry. At some point, argues Campos, the pursuit of reasoned judgement becomes irrational. The axiom of American legal ideology is: "More law = good/ less law = bad." Campos stresses that he is not criticizing the rule of law; rather, he is attacking the view that there should be more and more law in the same way that McDonald's believes there should be more and more hamburgers.

The more empirically inclined will not like this book. It is not data-based, even where there are points that would benefits from empirical analysis. Instead, this book is a thoughtful essay about the judicial overkill that Campos sees in the American legal system.

At times, however, the essay seems to wander afield. One of the advance reviews of the book described the writing as "insightful, witty, and urbane." Overall that is true. This is a well-written book. However, in parts the author has tried too hard to merit that praise. In effect, Campos has used writing overkill to discuss judicial overkill.

Campos does use excellent examples of the effects of the over-use of law. Those examples range from NCAA regulations to the Simpson trial to physician-assisted suicide. And, he makes a very convincing case against the folly of the American addiction to law.

After identifying a problem, the hard task is always to devise remedies for the problem This is the book's weakest point. Campos argues for a recognition of the limits of reason and of the law. How that recognition of limits is achieved remains unanswered.

Overall, this is a valuable essay on the limits of rationality and the overreliance on the legal process. It should be especially interesting reading for students of judicial process and administrative law.