Jewish Legal Theory and American Constitutional Theory: Some Comparisons and Contrasts

In recent years, American legal scholars have relied increasingly on Jewish law. Scholars have employed concepts from Jewish law in the analysis of health law, criminal law, legal ethics, legal interpretation, and constitutional law. Despite this trend, legal scholars continue to debate the value and validity of applying Jewish legal principles to American legal theory. This Article explores some of the ways in which Jewish law may shed light on issues in American constitutional theory.

While acknowledging that there are fundamental differences between a religious legal system and a secular one, this Article argues that certain conceptual similarities between American law and Jewish law allows for meaningful comparison of the two systems.