As AI tools participate in legal research, decision-support, and judgment prediction, questions arise about their capacity to function as genuine legal reasoners. The study inquired if machines can ever truly “reason” like a lawyer or judge by revisiting legal realism, the idea that legal outcomes are shaped more by human judgment and experience than rigid rules. The study examined the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in legal reasoning. From a jurisprudential theory, the study argued that AI lacks the socio-psychological intuition central to Legal Realist thought, which emphasizes discretion, context, and the unpredictability of human behaviour. However, it also explored how AI might reshape what we consider “legal reasoning” in the future. The study concluded that while AI can assist in legal processes, its current framework falls short of meeting the philosophical depth expected of legal reasoning within a Realist tradition.
Keywords: Legal Realism, Artificial Intelligence, Legal Reasoning, Jurisprudence, Judicial Decision-Making, Philosophy of Law
Written by:
Mariam Adamu Esq.
Independent Researcher
Mobile: +2347089391983
Email:mariam.n.adamu@gmail.com
ORCID ID: 0009-0003-0873-2871
Shajobi Oseghale D. Oluwadamilola, Ph.D
Department of Law
Nigerian University Pension Management Company Limited
Mobile: +2348106074124
Email: derebipi@gmail.com
ORCID ID: 0009-0004-2153-1481
Ifeoma Stella Ilodibia Esq.
Department:of Political Science,
Linköping University, Sweden, (Graduate Candidate)
Mobile: +46 709116080
Email: ilodibiaifeoma@gmail.com
ORCID ID: 0009-0001-2101-8053