chapter 2 - an overview of the u.s. legal system

© 2015 Cengage Learning

Prepared by Tony Wolusky, J.D. , Metropolitan State University of Denver

Chapter 2An Overview of the U.S. Legal

System


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 Or seek retribution for wrongdoing.


Consensus Theoryo Holds that individuals in a society agree on basic

values, on what is inherently right and wrong, and the laws that 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 Theoryo 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.


Purpose of criminal justice system often discussed in terms of the Crime Control Model and the Due Process Model

The Crime Control Model: o emphasizes the repression of criminal conduct.o criminal justice system must bring criminal behavior under tight control.

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.


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.


Facts: Roe (P), a pregnant single woman, brought a class action suit challenging the constitutionality of the Texas abortion laws. These laws made it a crime to obtain or attempt an abortion except on medical advice to save the life of the mother.

Issues: o Do abortion laws that criminalize all abortions, except

those required on medical advice to save the life of the mother, violate the Constitution of the United States?

o Does the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution protect the right to privacy, including the right to obtain an abortion?


Holdings:o Yes. State criminal abortion laws that except from

criminality only life-saving procedures on the mother’s behalf, and that do not take into consideration the stage of pregnancy and other interests, are unconstitutional for violating the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

o Yes. The Due Process Clause protects the right to privacy, including a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy, against state action. The decision gave a woman total autonomy over the pregnancy during the first trimester and defined different levels of state interest for the second and third trimesters.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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

organizes, structured codes such as the US criminal code, state statutes or local ordinances.

o Ordinances- laws or codes established at the local level, that is, the municipal or county level.

No statutory law can violate the Constitution.


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.


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 also been violated.o This is why the governments name,

representing the people, versus the defendant appears on court docket.• US v. Smith, State of Florida v. Smith


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.• Also called “penal codes”– criminal codes

or laws Tort- civil wrong by one individual against

another• Ex.- child support, eviction, divorce• Plaintiff v. Defendant (Smith v. Jones)


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.


A legal citation is a standardized way of referring to a specific element in the law.

It has three basic parts:o a volume numbero an abbreviation for the title, ando 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, 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).


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.


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, ando 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).


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, ando any separate opinions or dissents.


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.


The court has two main functions:o settle controversies between parties, ando 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.


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.


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.”


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 court3. 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.


Judges Lawyers Clerks of the court Sheriffs Marshals Bailiffs


Standingo 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.

Ripenesso When a case comes to court too soon.o Courts cannot get prematurely involved in a

case that can be resolved through other means.


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.

chapter 2 - an overview of the u.s. legal system

Education