Abstract

There is little to no evidence of an ongoing impact of the Italian legal tradition in the legal system of the United States. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify the influence of Italian juridacal thought on the founders of the American republic, and relevant contributions of Italian immigrants' descendants to the American legal system through scholarship and judicial activity. The article offers two hypotheses that could explain the absence of influence between the Italian and American traditions, with the hope that interaction between the two legal traditions will increase in the future.