Outstanding lawyers

Cesare Beccaria

(1738-1794)

Outstanding lawyers

A prominent Italian jurist, humanist and educator. He was born and lived in Milan. After graduating from law school he engaged in literary activities. Beccaria 4 months has written a book-a pamphlet, "On crimes and punishments" (1764), which determined his place in the history of political doctrines, criminal law and legislation. In his book, Beccaria not only denounced, but proved the irrationality of cruelty, injustice and tyranny of the feudal justice system, clearly revealed unsystematic and contradictory legislation of contemporary States in Europe. Beccaria called for the establishment of equality of all citizens before the law, particularly through the abolition of privileges of the nobility, insisted that only the law can define a range of criminal conduct and that the offender can be sentenced only to the penalty that was previously established by law.

Beccaria cited a number of arguments in favour of abolition of the death penalty. In the book questions of criminal law and procedure are examined closely: he made consistent findings of the presumption of innocence, expressed interesting thoughts on the rights of the accused, reliability of witness testimony. Special attention was paid to Beccaria the problem of prevention of crime, formulated on the basis of the principle: "Better to prevent crimes than to punish them." Small in size the book is written in a style not inferior to the best samples of the European prose of the XVIII century – concise and imaginative, intended to exert maximum influence on the mind and on the feelings of the reader. Under her direct influence (in the nineteenth century it was translated into more than 25 languages) in a number of States then Europe have been cancelled or restricted in the use of torture of suspects and the death penalty.

In the history of criminal law Beccaria is often seen as one of the first members or the founders of the classical school in criminal law. His book had a significant impact on the development of science criminal law and criminal procedure in Russia. The book "About crimes and punishments" served as useful guidance during the preparation of the Judicial reform of 1864 On a constant interest of the Russian legal community to the book of Beccaria demonstrated by the fact that new translations, often accompanied by detailed comments, published 6 times: for the first time in 1803 and the last time in 1939.

Jeremiah Bentham

(1748-1832)

Outstanding lawyers

A prominent English philosopher, economist and theorist of law, the founder of utilitarianism. Putting the task of reforming society, Bentham was confronted with the necessity of systematization and justification of their ideas. Bentham's utilitarianism was formulated in his famous work "Introduction to the principles of morals and legislation." Along with the ethical hedonism Bentham developed the concept of psychological hedonism, according to which each person actually desires what gives him the greatest happiness.

The main efforts of Bentham has written on the creation of codes, sets of laws – simple, consistent and easy to understand. Written codes used in the laws of France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal, India, Australia, Canada, and other countries of Europe and South America, and several American States. Bentham also made for the introduction of the civil service system, procedures of government decision-making, improvement of legal proceedings, and also participated in establishing the Institute, the police and other key public reforms. His liberal views were reflected in written in 1809 work "a Catechism of parliamentary".

Major works: Protection of interest (1787); an Introduction to the principles of morals and legislation (1789); the Theory of punishments and rewards (1811); Deontology, or the Science of morality (1834).

Brillat-Savarin Jean Anthelm

(1755-1826)

Outstanding lawyers

French lawyer, politician, famous French epicurien and cook. He was born in the Belly in France in a family of lawyers who are proficient in the art of oratory. He studied jurispudence, chemistry and medicine in Dijon, and the early years worked as a lawyer in his hometown.

In 1789 after the French revolution began he was sent Ambassador to the States General, which soon became the national constituent Assembly. Later in the revolution, for his head was designated a reward, and he sought political asylum in Switzerland. He later moved to Holland, and then in the USA, where the first three years I lived in Boston, new York, Philadelphia, and Hartford on the income received by giving lessons on the violin. For some time he was first violin in the theatre Park Theatre in new York.

He returned to France in the new Board in 1797, and held the post of magistrate judges, which he held until the end of his life, working as a judge, resolve complaints. Jean Anthelm has published several books on law and political economy.

His famous work "the Psychology of taste" was published in December 1825, two months before his death. Full name it "the Psychology of taste or transcendental gastronomy, theoretical, historical and topical work, dedicated to the cooking of Paris Professor, member of several literary and scientific community".

Rudolf von Jhering

(1818-1892)

Outstanding lawyers

German lawyer, 1842-1892, Professor at the universities of Basel, Rostock, Kiel, Giessen, Vienna and göttingen. Widely known works of Jhering in civil law, his name is connected with attempts of the sociological study of law and state in bourgeois science. The basis of the theory of Yering, which he described as realistic, born of the recognition of law as a legally protected interest: the interest, purpose, practical use he has seen a significant element of the notion of rights. Right, Jhering, arises from the struggle of individuals and groups and in the form of coercion provides the vital conditions of society. In the book "Purpose in law", he treats the fight as a moment of social mechanics, the motive and condition of which is selfishness, and right – as recognition of the strong interests of the weak, self-restraint and moderation power in order to establish a fair and just peace between the fighting. In the works of Jhering. spanning a pragmatic criticism of the basic legal doctrines of the 19th century – the historical school of law, natural law.

Clarence Seward Darrow

(1857-1938)

Outstanding lawyers

American lawyer and one of the leaders of the American civil liberties Union, known to those agreeing to protect teenage killers Leopold and Loeb in court for the murder of 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Frank (1924), and John T. scopes in the so-called Monkey (1925), in which he opposed William Jennings Bryan (statesman, famous orator and three-time presidential candidate). Nicknamed "iskushennaya lawyer district", he distinguished himself by his wit and agnosticism, which have become one of the most famous American lawyers and defender of civil liberties.

In the early 90-ies of the XIX century, Darrow worked as a corporate lawyer in the North-Western railway. At the same time, Darrow was defending Patrick Eugene Prendergast, the assassin of Chicago mayor Carter Harrison.

In history is remembered as one of the most principled opponents of the death penalty is defended more than a hundred murderers, of which in the end was executed only one (Prendergast).