The great jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes claimed that people trained in law rarely appreciate art: works of genius would elude lawyers and judges, Holmes said, because "their very novelty would make them repulsive." As this implies, in crucial respects law and art are opposites. The legal system aims at stability and reinforcement of social norms whereas some art seeks to destabilize and challenge prevailing norms. The legal system aspires to objectivity, whereas art is largely value-laden. What happens when these worlds collide? This course explores a wide range of American trials involving art, such as: the fraud trial of William Mumler, America's leading "spirit photographer"; the trial of Stephen Radich for displaying sculptures defacing the flag; the suit against collector Joseph Duveen for calling an alleged Da Vinci painting a forgery; the case of a Constantin Brancusi sculpture refused duty-free entry into the U.S. on the ground that it wasn't art; the trial of Jeff Koons for copyright infringement; the defamation suit by David Wojnarowicz against a group that misrepresented his work; the litigation to appraise Andy Warhol's paintings; and the obscenity trial of Robert Mapplethorpe for homoerotic photographs. These cases implicate the complex relationship between aesthetics and epistemology and raise profound questions about both law and art. Are judges and juries equipped to determine the purpose or value of art? Do artists need the protection of society or does society need protection from artists? The most crucial question, from the standpoint of this course, concerns the capacity of our legal system to strike an appropriate balance between preserving the social fabric and accommodating change. Does the inherent conservatism of the law inevitably impede the kind of free expression necessary for a thriving democracy? Format: seminar. Requirements: active class participation, several short papers, and a substantially longer final paper. Prerequisite: Legal Studies 101 and at least two Legal Studies electives, or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limit: 25 (expected: 20-25). Preference will be given, in order of seniority, to students for whom this course completes the Legal Studies concentration.

Hour: A. HIRSCH