In United States legal education, hornbooks are one-volume legal treatise

Legal treatise

A legal treatise is a scholarly legal publication containing all the law relating to a particular area, such as criminal law or trusts and estates...

s, written primarily for law students on subjects typically covered by law school

Law school

A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...

 courses.

Hornbooks summarize and explain the law in a specific area. They are distinct from casebook

Casebook

A casebook is a type of textbook used primarily by students in law schools. Rather than simply laying out the legal doctrine in a particular area of study, a casebook contains excerpts from legal cases in which the law of that area was applied. It is then up to the student to analyze the language...

s, which are collections of cases (or parts of cases) chosen to help illustrate and stimulate discussion about legal issues.

The term derives from the hornbook

Hornbook

A hornbook is a book that serves as primer for study. The hornbook originated in England in 1450 . The term has been applied to a few different study materials in different fields...

, an early children's educational tool, implying that the material is basic. The term hornbook law is sometimes used to describe basic, settled legal principles – see black letter law

Black letter law

The black letter law refers to the basic standard elements for a particular field of law, which are generally known and free from doubt or dispute...

.

External links

• A list of hornbooks and study aids, managed by the D'Angelo Law Library at the University of Chicago.