"Minding the Law explores crucial psychological processes involved in the work of lawyers and judges: deciding whether or not particular cases fit within a legal rule ("categorizing"), telling stories to justify one's claims or undercut an adversary's ("narrative"), and tailoring one's language to be persuasive without appearing partisan ("rhetorics"). Because these processes are not unique to the law, courts' decisions cannot rest solely upon legal logic but must also depend vitally upon the underlying culture's storehouse of familiar tales of heroes and villains."--BOOK JACKET.

"How courts rely on storytelling, and how their stories change the ways we understand the law-and ourselves"--Cover.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [309]-425) and index.

1. Invitation to a Journey 2. On Categories 3. Categorizing at the Supreme Court: Missouri v. Jenkins and Michael H. v. Gerald D. 4. On Narrative 5. Narratives at Court: Prigg v. Pennsylvania and Freeman v. Pitts 6. On Rhetorics

7. The Rhetorics of Death: McCleskey v. Kemp 8. On the Dialectic of Culture 9. Race, the Court, and America's Dialectic: From Plessy through Brown to Pitts and Jenkins 10. Reflections on a Voyage App. Analysis of Nouns and Verbs in the Prigg, Pitts, and Brown Opinions.