Kohm and Kohm on C. S. Lewis's Influence in American Case Law

Lynne Marie Kohm and Joseph Kohm, both of the Regent University School of Law, have published C. S. Lewis's Influence in American Case Law. Here is the abstract.

The writings and works of C.S. Lewis have undoubtedly influenced culture through literature, but also through science, academia, education, the arts, and numerous aspects of society. Few scholars, however, have observed his influence on the law. This piece explores how Lewis's work has affected the law in juridical reasoning, and how it has inspired law as literature. Lewis's influence in American case law is not only astonishing in its breadth, but also in its earnestness in integrating the law with efforts to find justice and truth. When Lewis wrote, "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else," it also included the law and jurisprudence. Law and culture are inextricably linked, via the tug-of-war between where one is consistently seeking dominance over the other. Law directs the theory and practice of basic universal rules held and utilized around the globe. In this piece two lawyers explore the influence of C. S. Lewis and his writings in American case law, and in the rule of law generally. In balancing these tensions, Lewis has been not only instructive, but influential, and this essay investigates how he has become somewhat of a cultural icon to learned jurists.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.