Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Law and literature is the study of how law and legal institutions are portrayed in literature. This can help us understand how a particular culture views law at a given time. It can also involve applying literary theory to legal texts, focusing on lawyers' language and style, as well as legal syntax and meaning. Scholars who study law and literature are part of a field or movement that produces a body of work on this topic.
Definition: Law and literature is the study of how law and legal institutions are depicted in literature. It can also refer to the application of literary theory to legal texts.
Examples:
For example, a law and literature scholar might analyze how the character of Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" represents a certain view of the legal profession and justice in the American South during the 1930s. Or, they might examine the use of metaphor and symbolism in a Supreme Court opinion to understand how the court is shaping public perception of a legal issue.