Rule Skepticism
- Theory
- Rule Skepticism
- Jurist
- Karl Llewellyn
- Description
A strand of American Legal Realism arguing that the "paper rules" stated in statutes and precedents do not reliably predict decisions; judges actually decide on "real rules" grounded in fact-patterns and behaviour. Contrasts with Jerome Frank's fact skepticism, which doubts the certainty of facts found at trial.