ALI member Justice Evelyn Keyes of the First Court of Appeals examines the American Law Institute’s influence on shaping and clarifying American law, with an emphasis on Texas law, in an article published in the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society Journal’s Summer 2016 issue. Justice Keyes explains and gives insight into the initial incorporation of the ALI; the Institute’s mission; how the Institute works; and an overview and case examples providing citations of Restatements, Principles, and Model Code projects.
“The ALI recognizes that its publications are enormously influential and therefore insists on the integrity and quality of each product. Many courts and legislatures—including those of Texas—look to the ALI’s Restatements, Model Codes, and Principles of the Law as authoritative sources of legal principle where there is no direct legal authority on point or no clear statement of the law,” said Justice Keyes.
Justice Keyes currently serves as an Adviser to the Principles of Government Ethics Project and a consultant to the Principles of Election Law Project.