Discussion Question 2

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Harr_ConLaw_6e_ch02_lecture_Notes.pdf

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Prepared by Tony Wolusky, J.D. , Metropolitan State University of Denver

Chapter 2

An Overview of the

U.S. Legal System

 Throughout history, law has regulated human interactions for different reasons:

o Protect society’s interests.

o Deter antisocial behavior.

o Enforce moral beliefs.

o Uphold individual rights.

o Support those in power.

o Punish lawbreakers.

o Or seek retribution for wrongdoing.

 Consensus Theory

o Holds that individuals in a society agree on basic

values, on what is inherently right and wrong, and the

laws that express these values.

o Social contract exists where individuals agree to give up

a portion of their individual freedom to benefit the

security of the group.

 Conflict Theory

o Holds that laws are established to keep the dominant

class in power.

o Explains how laws protect the interests and values of

the dominant groups in society.

 Purpose of criminal justice system often discussed in terms

of the Crime Control Model and the Due Process Model

 The Crime Control Model:

o emphasizes the repression of criminal conduct.

o criminal justice system must bring criminal behavior under

tight control.

 The Due Process Model:

o emphasizes the rights of the individual.

o rests on the presumption of innocence.

o individual rights are not to be sacrificed for the sake of

efficiency.

 The basic purpose of the legal system is:

o To ensure fairness in balancing individual and

society rights and needs, while preventing

excessive government power.

 Scales of justice represent keeping individual and

societal needs in balance.

 Facts: Roe (P), a pregnant single woman, brought a class

action suit challenging the constitutionality of the Texas

abortion laws. These laws made it a crime to obtain or

attempt an abortion except on medical advice to save the

life of the mother.

 Issues:

o Do abortion laws that criminalize all abortions, except those

required on medical advice to save the life of the mother,

violate the Constitution of the United States?

o Does the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

to the United States Constitution protect the right to privacy,

including the right to obtain an abortion?

 Holdings:

o Yes. State criminal abortion laws that except from criminality

only life-saving procedures on the mother’s behalf, and that

do not take into consideration the stage of pregnancy and

other interests, are unconstitutional for violating the Due

Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

o Yes. The Due Process Clause protects the right to privacy,

including a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy,

against state action. The decision gave a woman total

autonomy over the pregnancy during the first trimester and

defined different levels of state interest for the second and

third trimesters.

 Early English judge-made law, based on custom and

tradition that was followed throughout the country is

known as Common Law.

 Royal judges traveled through territories to apply a broader

or national norm as cases were decided. Law became

more common throughout the country.

 It is synonymous in American law with case law- based on

previous cases.

 Common law depends heavily on precedent

(prior cases) and the doctrine of stare

decisis.

o Latin for “let the decision stand.”

o Requires that decisions in one case shall

be followed in all later cases having the

same or similar circumstances.

o This ensures consistency in the law.

 The purpose of the Constitution

remains to ensure individual liberty by

limiting government power.

 The law itself controls government by

restricting how and when government

can and cannot interfere with citizen’s

lives.

 Human nature dictates that different needs are

perceived at different times.

o Effective law should be flexible enough to

respond to these changes.

 American law is referred to as a living law,

because it is not stagnant.

o It can change, expand or rescinded (repeal) to

serve the overall system.

 Statutory law- laws set by legislatures or governing bodies having jurisdiction to make such law.

o Statutory law can be referred as codified law.

o Codified law- law specifically set forth in organizes, structured codes such as the US criminal code, state statutes or local ordinances.

o Ordinances- laws or codes established at the local level, that is, the municipal or county level.

 No statutory law can violate the Constitution.

 Facts: Marbury was designated as a justice of the peace in DC in

the last days of John Adams's presidency, but these last-minute

appointments were never fully finalized. He invoked an act of

Congress and sued for his job in the Supreme Court.

 Issues: Is the Supreme Court the place for Marbury to get the

relief he requests?

 Holding: The Constitution was "the fundamental and paramount

law of the nation" and that "an act of the legislature repugnant

to the constitution is void." In other words, when the

Constitution--the nation's highest law--conflicts with an act of the

legislature, that act is invalid.

 This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of judicial

review.

 Who is the victim? Is it a public wrong (criminal) or a private wrong (civil)?

 The victim in criminal law is the community, because it disrupts the community. Society’s welfare has also been violated.

o This is why the governments name, representing the people, versus the defendant appears on court docket.

• US v. Smith, State of Florida v. Smith

 Crimes- Acts defined by federal or state statute or

local ordinance that are punishable; wrongs

against the government and the people it serves.

• Ex.- murder, rape, robbery, etc.

• Also called “penal codes”– criminal codes or

laws

 Tort- civil wrong by one individual against another

• Ex.- child support, eviction, divorce

• Plaintiff v. Defendant (Smith v. Jones)

 Sometimes there is overlap of criminal and

civil law.

o A drunk driver causes a crash and hurts an

individual.

o Is this criminal or civil?

• It can be both. Can be guilty of DUI (crime) and be

held civilly liable for the injuries caused to others by

the tort committed.

• The government would pursue criminal charges.

• The victim would file a lawsuit in pursuit of damages

for medical bills or car repair.

 A legal citation is a standardized way of referring to a

specific element in the law.

 It has three basic parts:

o a volume number

o an abbreviation for the title, and

o a page or section number.

 For example, the official cite for the Miranda case is

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).

 Sometimes additional cites, known as string cites, are

given.

o A string cite for this case would be Miranda v, Arizona,

384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct 1502, 16 L.Ed. 694 (1966).

 Facts: Carter, Johns, and Thompson were arrested after a

police officer observed them through a window bagging

cocaine in Thompson's apartment.

 Issue: Under the Fourth Amendment, do household visitors

have the same protection against unreasonable searches

and seizures as do residents or overnight social guests?

 Holding: No.

 Rationale: People who visit someone's home for a short

time do not have the same protection against

unreasonable police searches and seizures as do the

residents or their overnight guests.

 A legal opinion usually contains:

o a description of the facts,

o a statement of the legal issues presented,

o the relevant rules of law,

o the holding, and

o the policies and reasons that support the holding.

 The holding of the case is the rule of law applied to the

particular facts of the case and the actual decision.

 A court may affirm (support), reverse (overturn), or remand

(return the case to the lower court).

 A case brief is an outline of a legal case that

contains:

o the case name and citation,

o a summary of key facts,

o the legal issues involved,

o the court’s decision,

o the reason for that decision, and

o any separate opinions or dissents.

 Shepardizing a case involves using Shepard’s

Citations.

 This is a reference that tracks cases so legal

researchers can easily determine whether the

original holding has been changed through any

appeals.

 Relying on a case that has been overturned or

otherwise rendered invalid could prove disastrous

for the attorney and their client.

 The court has two main functions:

o settle controversies between parties, and

o to decide the rules of law that apply in the specific case.

 Article III of the U.S. Constitution established the federal

judicial system.

 The types of cases a court can hear depend upon its

jurisdiction:

o The authority of a legislative body to establish a law or a

court to hear case.

o The authority a law has over a specific group of people.

 Facts: President Jimmy Carter acted without congressional

approval in ending a defense treaty with Taiwan.

 Issue: Did Congress have a constitutional role to play in the

termination of the treaty?

 Holding: The case was not proper for the Court to consider.

 Rationale: The majority believed that the issue involved a

political question, namely, how the President and Congress

would conduct the nation's foreign affairs.

 Facts: Passengers in a car attempted to suppress shotgun

shells found in the car.

 Issue: “[W]hether standing [can] be established in the

absence of ownership of the property seized.”

 Holding: No.

 Rationale: The Court did not accept the “target” theory,

and reaffirmed Jones v. United States. The petitioners had

no standing and no “legally sufficient interest in a place

other than his own home.” The petitioners “could [not]

legitimately expect privacy in the areas which were the

subject of the search and seizure each sought to contest.”

 The US judicial system is two-tiered, consisting of

state and federal court systems.

 At either tier, there are three levels:

1. Lower court (trial court)

2. Appellate court

3. Court of last resort (Supreme court)

 These levels exist to assure that if either side

thinks procedural rules were violated, they can

appeal the case to a higher court.

 Judges

 Lawyers

 Clerks of the court

 Sheriffs

 Marshals

 Bailiffs

 Standing

o Having an actual interest in the matter of dispute.

 Mootness

o Exists when the issues that gave rise to a case have

either been resolved or have disappeared.

 Ripeness

o When a case comes to court too soon.

o Courts cannot get prematurely involved in a case that

can be resolved through other means.

 The courts are only one component of the American

system of justice.

 There are also law enforcement and the correctional

systems.

 Law enforcement officers are known as the “gatekeepers”

of the criminal justice system.

 Correctional officials handle the offenders after a court

renders that they are guilty of a crime.

 The juvenile justice system is also composed of the courts,

law enforcement and corrections, though some of the

guiding principles and rules are different.