Mechanical Jurisprudence Law and Legal Definition
Mechanical jurisprudence is a term coined by Roscoe Pound to refer to the common but odious practice whereby judges woodenly applied previous precedents to the facts of cases with relentless disregard for the consequences. Pound believed that the logic of previous precedents alone would not solve jurisprudential problems. He developed the theory of sociological jurisprudence in opposition to mechanical jurisprudence. Sociological jurisprudence is a philosophical approach to law stressing the actual social effects of legal institutions, doctrines, and practices.
