By reasoning we come to true reason.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) Sound legal reasoning, carefully applied, leads to correct conclusions. Courts and advocates must reason from established principles rather than from assumptions or speculation.

Where this applies

• A judge requires both sides to build their arguments from established precedent rather than speculation, because only careful reasoning from known principles leads to sound conclusions.
• An appellate court overturns a trial judge's ruling that was based on gut feeling rather than legal analysis, holding that true reason comes through disciplined reasoning.
• A law professor teaches students to trace every conclusion back to a statutory or constitutional source, because reasoned argument — not assertion — is how the law arrives at truth.