Legal formalism is a legal positivist view in philosophy of law and jurisprudence. While Jeremy Bentham's legal positivism can be seen as appertaining to the legislature, legal formalism appertains to the Judge; that is, formalism does not (as positivists do) suggest that the substantive justice of a law is irrelevant, but rather, that in a democracy, that is a question for the legislature to address, not the Judge.
Read more about Legal Formalism: Formalism Explained, Formalism Compared To Legal Realism, Justice Scalia and Formalism, Formalism and Frederick Schauer
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