The law has outgrown its primitive stage of formalism when the precise word was the sovereign talisman, and every slip was fatal. It takes a broader view to-day. A promise may be lacking, and yet the whole writing may be instinct with an obligation, imperfectly expressed. If that is so, there is a contract.

About This Quote

About Benjamin N. Cardozo

Benjamin N. Cardozo was us supreme court justice from 1932 to 1938. Benjamin Nathan Cardozo was an American lawyer and jurist who served on the New York Court of Appeals from 1914 to 1932 and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1932 until his death in 1938. Cardozo is remembered for his significant influence on the development of American common law in the 20th century, as well as for his philosophy and vivid prose style. Read more on Wikipedia →

More quotes by Benjamin N. Cardozo