Chapter 2 lecture notes, videos, and websites

1.  
Michelle Palaro
CJUS 2360
Fall 2015
Chapter 2
An Overview of the
U.S. Legal System

2.  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 Seek retribution for wrongdoing

3.  Consensus Theory (Plato and Aristotle)
o Holds that individuals in a society agree on basic
values, on what is inherently right and wrong, and
that laws 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 (Karl Marx)
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

4.  Purpose of criminal justice system often discussed in
terms of the Crime Control Model and the Due Process
Model
1. The Crime Control Model:
o Emphasizes the repression of criminal conduct.
o Criminal justice system must bring criminal behavior under tight
control.
2. 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

5.  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

6.  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

7.  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

8.  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

9.  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

10.  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
organized, structured codes such as the US
criminal code, state statutes, or local ordinances
o Ordinances - laws or codes established at the
local level (the municipal or county level)
 No statutory law can violate the Constitution

11.  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 been violated
o This is why the government’s name,
representing the people, versus the
defendant appears on court docket
• Ex. US v. Smith, State of Florida v. Smith

12.  Brief video on case:

13.  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

14.  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.
• “Penal codes” – listing of criminal codes or laws
 Tort- Civil wrong by one individual against
another
• Ex. child support, eviction, divorce, class action
lawsuits
• Ex. Plaintiff v. Defendant (Smith v. Jones)

15.  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

16.  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
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
(parallel citations), 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)

17.  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
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)

18.  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
o Any separate opinions or dissents

19.  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

20.  The court has two main functions:
o Settle controversies between parties
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

21.  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

22.  Brief video on case:

23.  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”

24.  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

25.  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

26.  Judges
 Lawyers
 Clerks of the court
 Sheriffs
 Marshals
 Bailiffs

27.  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

28.  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