Billings
Learned Hand — usually called simply Learned Hand —
was a famed American judge and an avid supporter of free speech,
though he is most remembered for applying economic reasoning to
American tort law. Hand is generally considered to be one of the
most influential American judges not to have served on the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Born
in Albany, New York, he attended the Albany Academy before training
in law and philosophy at Harvard, studying under William
James,
Josiah Royce and George Santayana. He started practicing law in
Albany before moving on to New York City. He later spent his free
time at his vacation house in Cornish, New Hampshire, where he
enjoyed the close friendship of novelist J.D. Salinger.
Hand
served on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
New York from 1909 to 1924 (see Masses Publishing Co. v. Patten,
244 F. 535 (S.D.N.Y. 1917), and on the United States Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1924 until 1951. Hand's judicial
opinions are frequently considered classic formative statements
of American contract and tort law. One of his most famous tools,
commonly referred to as the calculus of negligence, first appeared
in United States v. Carroll Towing, 159 F.2d 169 (2d Cir. 1947).
The case was concerned with civil tort liability in a case alleging
damage after a boat-owner's failure to adequately secure his vessel
at harbor.
The
calculus requires that financial liability should only be imposed
for a tort if the burden of preventing the injury does not exceed
the magnitude of the injury multiplied by its likelihood of occurring.
The rule, also sometimes referred to as the "Hand Test,"
is most notable for its economic approach to a legal rule; an
approach that is the foundation of the law and economics school
of legal thought. Like many others in the law and economics school,
most notably Judge Richard Posner, Hand was also influenced by
philosophical pragmatism.
Hand's
cousin, Augustus Noble Hand, was also a judge and also served
on both the Southern District and the Second Circuit courts substantially
during Learned's tenure at each.
In
1944, Judge Hand delivered an address at a patriotic rally in
New York City's Central Park. The address, entitled The Spirit
of Liberty, is one of Hand's most famous utterances. In it, he
famously described the spirit of liberty as "the spirit which
is not too sure that it is right."
One
of the most famous quotes that Judge Learned Hand is known for
is: "There is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs
as to keep taxes as low as possible."
In
another famous quote regarding the U.S. income tax law, Judge
Hand wrote:
"Any
one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low
as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will
best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase
one's taxes[. . . . ]"
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