In law, as in every other branch of knowledge, the truths given by induction tend to form the premises for new deductions. The lawyers and the judges of successive generations do not repeat for themselves the process of verification any more than most of us repeat the demonstrations of the truths of astronomy or physics.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes that learned truths in law and other fields are accepted without re-verification through induction and deduction.
Benjamin N. Cardozo highlights the nature of legal knowledge, asserting that the truths established through inductive reasoning serve as foundational premises for making new deductions. Just as most individuals do not continually verify established scientific truths, lawyers and judges rely on the precedents and established truths of the law, which enables the legal system to function efficiently across generations without redundant verification.
In practice
During a law seminar, a speaker might quote this to describe the reliance on established legal principles.
Lawsuits are rare and catastrophic experiences for the vast majority of men, and even when the catastrophe ensues, the controversy relates most often not to the law, but to the facts. In countless litigations, the law Is so clear that judges have no discretion.
History or custom or social utility or some compelling sense of justice or sometimes perhaps a semi-intuitive apprehension of the pervading spirit of our law must come to the rescue of the anxious judge and tell him where to go.
The Constitution overrides a statute, but a statute, if consistent with the Constitution, overrides the law of judges. In this sense, judge-made law is secondary and subordinate to the law that is made by legislators.
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Usually when we hear or read something new, we just compare it to our own ideas. If it is the same, we accept it and say that it is correct. If it is not, we say it is incorrect. In either case, we learn nothing.
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