Government: 15.1 Law In America

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Introduction

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Law is the set of rules and standards by which a society govern itself.
Law defines the individual's rights and obligations and specifies the ways citizens and government relate to each other.

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Early Systems of Law

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The most well-known of these was the code of Hammurabi, a collection of laws assembled by Hammurabi, king of Babylonia from 1792 to 1750.BC.

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Our Legal Heritage

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The laws that govern our lives and protect out rights are commonly known as constitutional law, statutory law, administrative law, common law, and equity.

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Constitutional Law

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The term constitutional law applies to that branch of the law dealing with that formation, construction, and interpretation of constitutions.

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Statutory Law

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A statue is a law written by a legislative branch of government. Statutes passed by city councils are called ordinances.
Statutory Law: is sometimes called "Roman Law" because it is based on an approach to making laws derived from the ancient Romans.
In the A.D. 530s the Roman emperor Justinian had scholars reorganize and simplify all the laws into a final Roman legal code called the Justinian Code.

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Administrative Law

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Administrative Law: spells out the authority and procedures to be followed by these agencies, as well as the rules and regulations issued by such agencies.

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Common Law

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The single most important basis of the American legal system is the common law, which is law made by judges in the process of resolving individual cases.
When a new case was similar to cases already decided and in the books, the judges followed the earlier ruling, or precedent.

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Equity

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Equity is a system of rules by which disputes are resolved on the grounds of fairness.
An equity court could require an action beyond the payment of money or even stop a wrong before it occurred.

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Legal System Principles

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These principles include:
equal justice under the law
due process of law
the adversary system of justice
the presumption of innocence

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Due Process of Law

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Principle in the Fifth Amendment stating that the government must follow proper constitutional procedures in the trials and in other actions it takes against individuals.

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Substantive Due Proces

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Certain rights of individuals in the application of laws, some that are specified in the constitution (like free speech) and some that are not specified (like the right of privacy in making personal decisions).

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Procedural Due Process

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Principles that prohibits arbitrary (random) enforcement of the law, and also provides safeguards to ensure that constitutional and statutory right are protected by law enforcement.

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Adversary System

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A judicial system in which opposing lawyers present their strongest cases.

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Presumed Innocence

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the presumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

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How does "Equity" promote justice in the American Legal system?

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An equity court could require and action beyond the payment of money or even stop a wrong before it occurred. For example, an equity court issue an injunction to prevent an action such as a neighbor building a fence across your property.

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What is the meaning of "equal justice under the law"?

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Refers to the goal of the American court system to trat all persons alike.

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What are the differences between Substantive Due Process and Procedural Due Process?

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Substantive Due Process: shorthand for certain rights
Procedural Due Process: cases about the way a law is administered.

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Thompson v. Oklahoma (1988)

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Issue: can a person convicted of committing murder he was 15 old be given the death penalty?
Result: The court ruled yes.