CJ225 Judicial process Week1

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Chapter 2: Law and Legal Systems

Judicial Process: Law, Courts and Politics in the United States

Chapter Topics

What is Law?

How Legal Systems Are Organized?

The Components of U.S. Law

Interpreting the Law

Law and Justice

Definitions of law do not necessarily include justice

Justice is fairness in treatment by the law.

The term justice is used many ways:

justice is winning

justice is achieving desired results “good v. bad” results

justice is equated with normative values “right to privacy v. rights of the unborn”

Civil Law

also called Roman law, Romano-Germanic law, or continental law

is the oldest family of law

starts with a code—the compilation of laws

the code expresses rules of law as general principles

the code provides answers for all disputes

Law pervades our lives

Law is a body of rules enacted by public officials in a legitimate manner and backed by the force of the state.

Law regulates the public and private institutions that are a central part of our lives

Law is a word of many meanings— it is difficult to define

Civil Law

judges not lawyers dominate court hearings (e.g., call witnesses)

judges are career bureaucrats who have not been practicing lawyers

juries are not generally used—mixed tribunals of judges and lay citizens are used in serious criminal cases

Socialist Law

originated in the former Soviet Union

partly based on the civil system (a code)

but is also revolutionary—law is to be used to create a radically different society

based on the philosophy of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin—the societal ownership of the major means of production is a guiding principle

Socialist Law

rejects law as the fundamental basis for society—law is the arbitrary work of an autocratic sovereign

the primary goal is the protection of the state—private property receives less protection

law has an educational role—it is an instrument of educating members about the new Socialist society

Islamic Law

most legal systems of the world are secular—but not all

Islamic law is termed the shari’a

based on the Qur’an, which sets out principles revealed by God

and the Sunna which contains the practices and decisions of Muhammad

Islam and Islamic clerics influence the law

Common Law

traces its roots to medieval England

after the Norman conquest (1066) the King’s courts began to apply the common customs of the entire realm rather than one village

common law came to be viewed as general law as opposed to special law—it was the law common to the entire land

Equity

the common law became technical and evolved into a hard and limited law

common law remedies were largely limited to monetary damages

the refusal of judges to adapt gave rise to equity law

equity meant fair dealing and equitable remedies were more flexible (e.g., injunctions)

English Heritage; American Adaptations

colonists brought principles of British common law to America

they brought procedures but did not always apply the substance

law was adapted to the frontier society

by the nineteenth century most states had merged their separate courts of law and equity

today the term common law refers to the case method

Key Characteristics of the Common Law

Judge-Made Law

Precedent

Uncodified Rules and Regulations

Judge-Made Law

until the late 19th century, there was no important body of statutory law in the U.S.

common-law courts developed rights in the area of property, torts, wills and contracts, and they defined such felonies as murder, manslaughter, arson, robbery, larceny and rape

common law’s most distinctive feature is the development of a system of law from judicial decisions

Precedent

court decision that serves as authority for deciding a similar question of law in a later case

also referred to as stare decisis “let the decision stand”

sometimes statements in a case are not interpreted as precedent—obiter dicta—(dictum or dicta) the part of the reasoning in a judicial opinion that is unnecessary to resolve the case—is not considered precedent

Precedent

reliance on precedent is central to the common law approach

provides stability, coherence, and predictability

“Stare decisis is usually wise policy, because in most matters it is more important that the applicable rule of law be settled than that it be settled right.” Justice Louis Brandeis

Uncodified Rules and Regulations

there is no one place to look for a statement of “the law”

the law emerges through precedent found in court decisions

common-law judges and lawyers reason by analogy which allows leeway in formulating new legal rules or modifying old ones, because analogies are neither correct nor incorrect, only more or less persuasive

Uncodified Rules and Regulations

judges may distinguish a current case from previous ones

judges may find that a case differs from all previous cases or that a previous case was wrongly decided

The Adversary System

the common-law is adversarial, civil law is inquisitorial

the parties are responsible for calling witnesses and asking questions

a judge acts as a neutral decision maker presiding over a battle between the opposing parties

the best system for finding “the truth’?

The Adversary System

Party Prosecution

it is the responsibility of the parties, not the judge or jury, to define the legal issues

encourages each party to present its best case

Neutral and Passive Decision Maker

the judge is a neutral arbitrator and expected to be passive

must be free from pressure--independent

Federalism

federalism divides power between the national and state state governments

federal law refers to the law of the national government—applies across the nation

state law applies to citizens within its territory—it is extensive and diverse (e.g., business and marriage law)

local law applies to a limited geographic or functional area—states grant local jurisdictions legal powers

Multiple Sources of Law

federal, state and local laws are found in multiple sources Constitutions

constitutions are the top rung

a constitution is the document that establishes the underlying principles and general laws of a nation or state

define the powers of branches of government

limit the powers of government (e.g., Bill of Rights)

Multiple Sources of Law

Constitutions

specify how government officials will be selected

federal and state constitutions vary (e.g., selection of judges)

Statutes

statutes are laws enacted by federal, state or local jurisdictions

until late 19th century statutes were secondary to court decisions

today legislatively enacted law is extensive and common

Multiple Sources of Law

Administrative Regulations

rules and regulations adopted by administrative agencies that have the force of law

e.g., IRS decisions, nursing home standards, zoning regulations

newest and fastest growing source of law

administrative law concerns the duties and proper running of an administrative agency

Judicial Decisions

appellate court decisions are an important source of law

legislatures pass law wholesale courts make it retail (Friedman 1984)

U.S. law today is primarily statutory and administrative—but some areas (e.g., tort law and court procedures) are dominated by judge-made law

case law is important in determining the meaning of other sources of law

Public and Private Law

Public law directly involves government (e.g., constitutional, criminal, administrative and international law)

Private law governs the relationships between private citizens

Tort law involves the legal wrong done to another person

not really private—it relies heavily on the actions of public agencies

e.g., divorce law—governs private relationships but involves court decisions

Civil and Criminal Law

a civil suit involves a dispute between private parties

a criminal suit involves a violation of a government’s penal laws

difference between who has been harmed (individual v. state)

types of remedies differ (compensation v. prison, fines or probation)

Civil and Criminal Law

there are different types of criminal violations

a felony is a more serious criminal offense that involves a possible prison sentence of one year or more

a misdemeanor is a less serious crime that usually involves a possible prison sentence of less than one year

criminal and civil law can sometimes overlap (e.g., a drunk driver who kills someone)

Substantive and Procedural Law

substantive law defines legal rights—the law defines the legal relationship between the citizen and the state, and among citizens themselves (e.g., contracts, property, torts, will criminal law)

procedural law establishes the methods of enforcing legal rights

governs the conduct of cases in court

protects against arbitrary government actions

the central idea is due process of law

Remedies

judgment – a court’s official decision about the rights and claims of each side in a lawsuit

remedy – the relief granted by the court, remedies include:

declaratory judgments – a judicial determination of the legal rights of the parties

restitution – the return of goods a party is entitled to

Remedies

the most common remedy is monetary damages

Compensatory damages – payments for the actual harm suffered (e.g., medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering)

Punitive damages – monies awarded to a person who has been harmed in a particularly malicious or willful way (I.e., not related to the harm done and meant punish the responsible party)

under equity law litigants seek an injunction – a court order that requires a person to take and action or refrain from taking action

Doctrines of Access

used to control the flow of cases into the judiciary

the court must have jurisdiction – the power of a court to hear a case in question

controversy must be a real dispute—not hypothetical

plaintiff must have standing to sue

are judicially created and can be changed or waived for a particular case—especially in policy lawsuits

Interpreting the Law

citizens typically misunderstand the how judges and lawyers interpret and apply the law

the law is not a series of precisely written and readily located rules that cover situations

lawyers and judges must make sense out of the words found in constitutions, statutes, administrative regulations, and previous court decisions

some areas of law are relatively settled and others are not—creating discretionary choices

Interpreting the Law

discretionary choices lead to interpretation—judges and lawyers must make choices

meaning of the words – legislatures and judges use vague language that leaves considerable room for interpretation

conflicting laws – it is not uncommon to find one law conflicting with another (e.g., allowing free exercise of religion may appear to be the establishment of that religion by the state)

gaps in the law – despite all of our law, situations do arise that are not contemplated, the discretionary choices courts make about these matters are important

Conclusion

U.S. law is complex, fragmented and voluminous

Our common-law traditions are unique and differ considerably from civil-law traditions

Our legal system is adversarial

Juries play a more important role than in most legal systems

The Supreme Court decides some of the most pressing social and political issues of the day

CJ225 Judicial process Week1

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