Law
The rules and regulations made and enforced by government that regulate conduct of people within a society
Jurisprudence
Study of law and legal philosophy
arbitrary
Rules cannot be ________
values, ideas of what is right and wrong
Laws are a reflection of a society's ______, ----
- Protect basic human rights
- Promote fairness
- Help resolve conflict
-Promote order and stability
- Promote desirable social and economic behavior
- Represent the will of the majority
- Protect the minority
List the 7 basic goals we want our legal system to achieve:
Affirmative action
Give people equal chance
Immigration debate
the debate against whether we should allow immigration or decline it. "Amnesty program
Moral, Political, Economic, Social
What are the 4 values laws are based off?
Human Rights
The rights people have b/c they are human beings. Innate, respect someone's dignity
-Right to liberty
-Right to education,
-Political and religious freedom
-Economic of well being
List 5 human rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Protects the right to freedom of speech, religion, press, participation in government
International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
Provides for the right adequate education, food, housing, health care, protection of property, and adequate salary
The Convention on the Rights of the Child
Spells out basic human rights to which children everywhere are entitled including the right to education and to be free from exploitation
Reservation
A legal way of making a provision less enforceable that it might otherwise be.
Treaty may take power from states
What is one reason for reservations
Radical individualism
Emphasis on individual rights with a loss of sense of community
Prosecutors
Represent the government, not an individual, in a
criminal
case
beyond a reasonable doubt
What is the burden of proof in a criminal case?
Defendant
Person charged with a crime (can be criminal cases AND civil cases)
Felony and misdemeanor
Two types of criminal offenses?
Felony
Usually punishable by 1 year or more in prison at hard labor
Misdemeanor
Less than a year in prison
Criminal cases
Brought by the government against a person charged with committing a crime, State vs. Person, U.S. vs. Person
Civil actions (and Law suits)
Brought by a person or group of people against another person of group when they have been injured in some way
Plantiff
a person who brings a case against another in a court of law
only in civil cases
Preponderance of evidence (more probably than not)
The burden of proof for a civil case?
Money damages
Courts can awards _________ in civil cases (no one goes to prison)
1. Congress
2. President
3. The federal courts
List all 3 powers of the "Separation of Powers
Statues
Congress pass laws known as _______
Judicial review
Enables a court to declare nonenforceable any law passed by Congress or by the state legislature that conflicts with the
Constitution
(highest law)
Federalism
The division between the states and federal government
Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments
Limited government is also reflected in ________ or ________________
Government passed a law the Constitution didn't give it the power to pass, (and) gov. passed a law that violates someone's rights
What are the two ways the court can declare a law unconstitutional?
Bill of Rights
Defines and guarantees the fundamental rights and liberties of all Americans. Right to the freedom of religion, speech, and press:
freedom from unreasonable search and seizure
Balancing of interests
competing interest that can cause conflicts