Discussion Questions

Draft a response to each of the bulleted questions below. Each question must have its own response and have a minimum of 75 words.

1.       How would you define a law?  How does the creation of laws impact society?  How can we improve the creation of laws at local, state, and federal levels?

2.       Do you think most legislatures put enough time into thinking through the consequences of the laws they pass?

3.        Is there any difference between "physical" criminal laws, such as those against murder, and "financial" criminal laws, such as those against financial fraud?

4.        In a nation of laws such as ours, the creation of laws has a major impact on all of us.  Along those lines, do most citizens have an active enough interest in the laws that are passed? Or is it more of an "inside game" where only legislators and the well-connected have too much influence?  What do you think?

5.       What is common law heritage?  How does common law heritage affect the overall legal system in America? 

6.       What judgments can you make about common law heritage and its relationship to laws which are created today?

7.    What is the definition of the state court system?  How does the state court system differ from a federal court system? 

8.    How can we improve the relationship between state court systems and federal court systems?