Development of Law in American Society: Jurisprudence

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Development of Law in American SocietyJurisprude
nce

• Justice vs. Fairness

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Ancient Laws
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Code of Hammurabi 1760 BC

• First known system of written law
• Over 250 harsh laws
• Legal Code statements of what is legal illegal

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Ten Commandments

• Found in the Bible
• Created about 1200 B.C.
• Followed by Hebrews in ancient Palestine
• Moral Code statements of what is right wrong

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Draconian Law 621 BC

• First written law of Athens, Greece
• Very harsh
• Retribution
• Punishment
• Legal Code-what is right wrong according to the
  law

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Justinian Codes 530 AD

• Harsh Roman law
• Emperor Justinian I compiled simplified all of
  the previous Roman codes of law in A.D. 533

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British Common Law 1100s A.D.

• Most important source of American law
• Common law is law based on previous court
  decisions
• Established in many of the English colonies

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Magna Carta 1215

• Limited the powers of the English king
• Granted new rights laws

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English Bill of Rights 1689 A.D.

• Further restricted the powers of the British
  monarchy
• Holds many of the ideas that we now have in our
  Bill of Rights
• Freedom of Speech
• Right to fair trial
• No cruel unusual punishment

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Influences on American Law
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Iroquois League1500 AD

• United Several Tribes together in attempt to
  unify the area stop fighting between tribes
• This impacted our development by giving Ben
  Franklin the idea to write the Albany plan of
  Union (1754) that called for a united colonies
  increased relations with England

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The Iroquois Constitution 1500s

• Oral constitution of a confederacy of 6 Native
  American tribes
• Inspired Benjamin Franklin James Madison when
  writing the U.S. Constitution

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Iroquois Indians (fought in the French Indian
war)
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Ben Franklin was the author of this cartoon.
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House of Burgesses 1619

• First representative assembly in North America
• Marked the beginning of self-government
  law-making in the colonies

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Mayflower Compact 1620

• Set up a direct democracy for Pilgrims in
  Plymouth, MA
• social contract consented to follow the rules
  regulations of the government for the sake of
  survival

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Locke's Second Treatise of Government1639

• Natural Rights Life, Liberty, Property
• Social Contract between people government
• Citizens surrender freedoms in exchange for the
  order protection according to the rule of law

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Montesquieu Spirit of the Laws1748

• Separation of Powers (The executive, legislative,
  judicial)
• One branch of government checks the power of
  others

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The Social Contract 1762

• Book written by Rousseau
• Expanded on the enlightenment ideas of John Locke
• government can only be ideal if approved by the
  people

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Declaration of Independence 1776

• Holds many of the ideas of Rousseau John Locke
• States justification for the colonies becoming
  independent
• Written by Thomas Jefferson

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U.S. Constitution 1778

• Current U.S. basis of law
• Based heavily on British traditions
• Supreme Law of the Land

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United States Bill of Rights

• Drafted in 1789
• First 10 Amendments
• Limits the powers of the federal government
• Protect the rights of all citizens, residents
  visitors on United States territory

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Civil Rights Act of 1964

• July 2, 1964
• Outlawed discrimination based on race, color,
  religion, sex, or national origin
• prohibited discrimination in public facilities,
  in government, in employment
• It became illegal to compel segregation of the
  races in schools, housing, or hiring

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Civil Disobedience

• non-violent protest in order to influence society
  or government.
• Examples Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Jesus.

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Keys to the Notes

• Legal Codes Laws of a state/nation
• Moral Codes right wrong
• Jurisprudence Study of law
• Retribution usually punishment, payback.

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• Habeas Corpus Judge or court investigates why a
  person is being held in prison (are they legally
  imprisoned?)
• Due Process all citizens are insured their legal
  rights. (trial, jury, face their accuser)

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In our govt there are 4 main sources of laws

• An agency may use each one of these when
  operating

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Sources of Law(using the example of the USPS)
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Constitution

• Some parts of the Constitution give specific laws
  that apply everywhere in the United States.
• Example Gives Congress the power to
• ? Establish Post Offices post roads
• ? Make all laws that are necessary proper for
  executing this task

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U.S. Code Statutes

• The Constitution gives Congress permission to
  pass laws about a limited number of topics.
• Example Congress passes laws to
• ? Establish the USPS
• ? Direct the Postal Service to provide efficient
  service at fair rates
• ? Authorize the Postal Service to adopt rules
  regulations

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Code of Federal Regulation

• Congress has the power to pass laws, but not to
  carry them out. They give each agency the power
  to create its own rules or regulations.
• Regulations have power similar to a law. Some
  regulations say what people can and cannot do
• Example USPS adopts regulations to
• ? Establish rules for daily operations at Post
  Offices around the country
• ? Limit what people are allowed to do on Post
  Office property
• ? Create special postal programs

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Court Cases (Judicial Precedent)

• The judicial system hears cases about violations
  of the Constitution, the Code, the Regulations.
  
• ? The Code the Regulations cannot violate the
  U.S. Constitution
• ? The courts interpretation of the Constitution,
  the Code, the Regulations is like an extra
  law

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Types of Law
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Conflicting Views

• Laws are supposed to..
• Protect human rights
• Promote fairness
• Resolve conflicts
• Promote order stability
• Represent the will of the majority
• Protect the rights of the minorities

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Criminal Law

• Laws that seek to prevent people from
  deliberately or recklessly harming each other
• What are felonies misdemeanors?

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Civil Law

• Dispute between two or more people usually
  involving money or family court
• Examples
• Divorce, Child Support, Car accidents (that do
  not involve a crime), Alimony, Abuse

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Administrative Law

• Includes rules regulations made by government
  agencies
• Example the Environmental Protection Agency
  creating a regulation banning certain types of
  pollution

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Statutory Law

• Deal with statutes (state law) that regulates
  behavior
• Examples
• Speed limits, food inspection processes, minimum
  ages for work permits, drivers licenses, voting
  requirements, etc.

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Constitutional Law

• Laws written in the constitution that must be
  followed
• Example Rights of the accused, such as
• Habeas Corpus
• No Double Jeopardy
• Hear Question Witnesses
• Impartial Jury

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Common Law

• Using previous court cases to determine the law
• Example If a restaurant owner denied an
  African-American service, the courts would look
  back to Heart of Atlanta Motel v. U.S.

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International Law

• Made up of treaties, customs, agreements with
  other nations
• If broken, defendant can go to the World Court
  (est. by the United Nations in 1946)

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Special Systems of Law
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Military Courts

• Congress has the power to make Rules for the
  Government Regulation of the land naval
  Forces
• Called the Uniform Code of Military Justice
  (UCMJ)
• A set of criminal laws that apply to people in
  the military
• Lists the procedures for conducting a military
  trial explains what punishments are allowed.
• Separate from the civilian system.
• Designed for the special needs of the military

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Juvenile Courts

• People under age 18 that commit a crime
• Usually more flexible
• Allows a judge to look at many factors in a
  childs life when deciding the consequences
• Believes that young people sometimes make bad
  choices that they would not make if they were
  more mature
• Offers more chances for young people to learn
  from mistakes
• Goal is rehabilitation