Course Description
Social Science Curriculum
Course Work and Evaluation
Course Textbooks
Suggested Study Methods

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The goal of this course is to provide an interdisciplinary perspective of law, justice, and society within the United States. In order to grasp the American legal system, it is necessary to organize this subject into two areas: (1) Foundations of Public Law and (2) Dimensions of Public Law. The first part introduces the difficult range of choices underlying the historical development and everyday operation of the legal process. Detailed attention is also accorded to the evolving spirit of law, the weighing of rival claims, the widespread exercise of discretion, and the policy-making roles of governmental institutions. Competing values about the proper balance of order, freedom, and equality within a democracy are further analyzed from a range of philosophical perspectives including egalitarian, Marxist, feminist and other views. Section Two explores how the legal system is backed by the repressive authority of the state but tempered by public demand to do justice. Law enforcement is analyzed to show how the police deal with conflicting expectations to prevent crime and respect rights. The adversarial system is also covered to explain the fighting theory of justice and education of the legal profession. The roles of the jury trial and criminal sanctions are considered as a forum for the expression of a multicultural society, the endless search for the truth, and the reflection of conflicting standards of justice. By focusing on these areas, this course will provide students with an opportunity to accomplish the following objectives:

A. To develop critical thinking about how and why a balance must be maintained between preserving societal order and protecting individual freedom.

B. To provide an interdisciplinary perspective about the competing purposes of the law with respect to substantive and procedural standards of justice.

C. To understand the legal system from the standpoint of the formal structures and processes which are responsible for determining guilt and innocence.

D. To explain how race, gender, wealth, religion, and power intersect with the governmental creation, enforcement, and interpretation of the law.

SOCIAL SCIENCE CURRICULUM: The relationship between this course and the social sciences is twofold. Law, Justice, and Society satisfies a general educational core requirement for an assortment of baacalaureate degrees. It also functions to promote the educational role of the Division of Social Sciences. The social sciences—anthropology, economics, sociology, philosophy, psychology, political science and history—provide a comprehensive understanding of society and human behavior. Such an interdisciplinary paradigm provides answers to the empirical question of how society works and the normative question of how society should work. Perhaps no other field of inquiry is more important to human beings than social science. It explains not only the dynamic conditions of human life, but also the opportunities available to the world for improving such conditions. A scientific knowledge of society and human behavior is as important as learning about mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, medicine, law and other disciplines. The instrumental benefits of understanding how to construct automobiles, perform surgeries, or make computers are hollow unless people can be part of a society where humans experience happy, meaningful, and satisfying lives. Such a liberal arts philosophy permeates the entire course offerings of the Social Sciences Division. Its overall curriculum, as reflected within this particular course, is designed to accomplish the following learning outcomes:

A. To develop critical thinking about how and why a social scientific approach is used to more thoroughly understand the complexities of human behavior.

B. To provide an interdisciplinary perspective about social science within the context of the nature, growth, structures, and functions of societal life.

C. To understand the development and application of the theoretical frameworks associated with the various disciplines which make-up the social sciences.

D. To explain the historical struggle of humans to pursue the "good life" free from the cultural, political, and economic problems of American society.

COURSE TEXTBOOKS: The reading materials required for this subject include John Bonsignore, et al., Before the Law: An Introduction to the Legal Process (Palo Alto: Houghton-Mifflin, 1994) and M. Ethan Katsh, Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Legal Issues (Palo Alto: McGraw-Hill, 1999). In writing these textbooks, the authors have concentrated on the historical struggle of the law to work out conflicts among competing political, economic, and cultural forces within the United States. Before the Law offers thorough coverage of the basic purposes, structures, and processes of the legal system from the standpoint of social science. Taking Sides contains a range of articles written by academics and practitioners who examine how such legal principles as democracy, liberty, equality, status, wealth, race, gender, discretion, culpability and punishment intersect with the passage, enforcement, and interpretation of the laws. These texts go beyond simply presenting information about law and justice within the United States. They also show how social scientists explain the principles and problems of the American legal system. Other recommended textbooks include:

A. Howard L. Abadinsky, Law and Justice: An Introduction to the American Legal System, 3rd ed. (Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers, 1995).

B. Ronald Huff, Arye Rattner, and E. Sagarin, Convicted But Innocent: Wrongful Conviction and Public Policy (Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 1996).

C. Richard Lempert and Joseph Sander, An Invitation to Law and Social Science: Desert, Disputes, and Distribution (New York: Longman Press, 1993).

D. Jill Norgren and Serena Nanda, American Cultural Pluralism and the Law (New York: Praeger Publishing Company, 1996).

E. Frank A. Schubert, Grilliot’s Introduction to Law and the Legal System, 6th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996).

F. Samuel Walker, Taming the System: The Control of Discretion In the Criminal Justice System (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993).

SUGGESTED STUDY METHODS: No method of study can meet the diverse needs of each student. Still a number of strategies can be used to gain a better perspective of the subject. Before attending class, the students should read the materials and carefully review the chapter questions assigned by the syllabus. This will allow students to familiarize themselves with the focus of the lectures and at the same time allow them to digest the reading assignments. After the readings have been completed, the students should outline the material around the basic principles and problems of the American legal system. The outlines should also accentuate the reading materials which correspond to the end of chapter lesson questions. This will enable students to focus on what the questions are asking and respond by evaluating the important concepts and issues of law and justice within the United States. The next strategy is to attend class. After all, the classroom is where the greatest amount of learning takes place through an open dialogue. Plus the examination questions will be taken from the class lectures and reading materials. It is important to realize that students acutally learn what they read and write about on a regular basis. So the key to unlocking the doors of Law, Justice and Society is to take the course assignments seriously.

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