2. The Law as a Balancing Act
•
The system is not perfect (human-effect)
–
•
•
Ex: One person’s rights are enforced while
another’s are not
Legislators and judges try to be as objective as
possible
Personal prejudices, biases, and other
limitations still creep into the process
2-2
3. Dualities within the Law
• The legal system is shaped by several dualities:
– Balance between the spirit and the letter of the law
– Between legal words and their interpretation
– Between abstract principles and concrete situations
2-3
4. The Spirit and the Letter of the Law
• A person who follows the “spirit” of the law has
found its actual intent, while one who is tied to
the “letter” of the law has missed its true
meaning.
2-4
5. Words versus Interpretation
• Because words are often ambiguous, the
language of the law can become a hindrance
rather than a help in the execution of the law.
• It is sometimes necessary to manipulate the
language in order to uncover the actual intent of
the lawmakers and to apply that intent in a
consistent and fair fashion
2-5
6. The Abstract and the Concrete
• It is not always easy to take an abstract principle
(“The gov’t should be fair and equitable”) and
apply that to a concrete piece of legislation
(reforming tax structure, education, etc.)
2-6
7. Constitutional Law
• Constitution
– basic law of a nation or state
• Constitutional law
– body of law that makes up a constitution and its
interpretation
2-7
8. Constitutional Law
• Articles of Confederation
– Created to hold together a fragile coalition of states,
each of which was determined to maintain its own
independent existence
– Much weaker federal government and stronger state
governments
– A primary weakness was that Confederation
Congress could not impose taxes or tariffs
2-8
9. Principles of the U.S. Constitution
• Separation of national powers among three
distinct branches of government
• System of checks and balances that allows each
branch to oversee the operation of the other two
branches
2-9
10. Structure of the U.S. Constitution
• Articles
– establish the organization of the national
government
• Amendments
– change provisions in the original articles
– add ideas that the framers did not include in those
articles
2-10
12. States Rights, Democracy, and the
Amendment Process
• Articles of Confederation did not set up a
democracy, rather the Articles expressly support
state supremacy.
• When the U.S. Constitution was written many of
the provisions of the Articles of Confederation
were lost
2-12
13. The Question of Democracy
• Structure of the Constitution establishes a
republic
• Democracy: the people have direct control over
the government
• Republic: the people elect delegates to represent
them.
2-13
14. State Constitutions
• Each state in the union adopts its own
constitution
• Establishes the state’s government
• Sets down principles to guide the state
government in making state laws and conducting
state business
• NC Constitution
2-14
15. The Principle of Supremacy
• The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the
land
• All other laws must be in line with constitutional
principles
• U.S. Constitution (Cornell)
2-15
16. Federal v. State Statutes
• Preemption
– the process by which the courts decide that a federal
statute must take precedence over a state statute.
• Devolution
– occurs when the courts redefine a right and shift the
obligation to enforce that right from an upper level
authority to a lower one
2-16
17. Commerce Clause
• The federal government’s power to regulate
business has emerged over the years out of the
Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
• The power to regulate is so broad today that the
federal government can regulate any business
activity that affects interstate commerce.
• Article I, Section 8, Clause 3
2-17
18. Statutory Law
• Statutes
– Laws passed by a legislature
• At the federal level, statutes are the laws made
by Congress and signed by the president
• At the state level, statutes are enacted by state
legislatures
• U.S. Code – uscode.house.gov
• NC Statutes – ncga.state.nc.us
2-18
19. Codes and Titles
• Code
– a compilation of all the statutes of a particular state
or the federal government
• Titles
– groupings of statutes that deal with a particular area
of the law
2-19
20. Uniform Laws
• Statutory law differs from state to state
• One solution to the problem of inconsistent
statutory law is for all the state legislatures to
adopt the same statutes
• The National Conference of Commissioners on
Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) was founded to
write these uniform laws
2-20
21. The Uniform Commercial Code
• Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
– a unified set of statutes designed to govern almost all
commercial transactions
– helps parties involved in commercial transactions
prepare their contracts
• UCC - Cornell
2-21
22. Electronic Law Statutes
• E-commerce (cyber-commerce)
– term applied to all electronic transactions
• The advent of the Information Age has sparked
the need for specific electronic law statutes that
address the associated problems
2-22
24. Common Law
• Common law
– the body of previously recorded legal decisions made
by the courts in specific cases.
• Stare decisis (let the decision stand)
– process of relying on these previously recorded legal
decisions
• Precedents
– The previously recorded legal decisions
2-24
25. Common Law
• Binding precedent
– precedent that a court must follow.
• Persuasive precedent
– precedent that a court is free to follow or ignore.
2-25
26. Statutory Interpretation
• Statutory interpretation
– the process by which the courts analyze those
aspects of a statute that are unclear or ambiguous or
that were not anticipated at the time the legislature
passed the statute
2-26
27. Judicial Review
• Judicial review
– the process of determining the constitutionality of
various legislative statutes, administrative
regulations, or executive actions
2-27
28. Administrative Agencies
• Administrative agencies
– create rules, regulate and supervise, and render
decisions that have the force of law
• Administrative law
– agencies’ decrees and decisions
U.S. Agencies list
2-28
29. The Federal Register and the Code
of Federal Regulations
• Federal Register
– a publication that produces a daily compilation of
new regulations issued by federal administrative
agencies
2-29
30. Question?
What is the process of determining the
constitutionality of various legislative statutes,
administrative regulations, or executive actions?
A. Official review
B. Legal review
C. Judicial assessment
D. Judicial review
2-30
31. Question?
Which unified set of statutes is designed to govern
almost all commercial transactions?
A. Uniform Business Code
B. Commercial Code of Regulations
C. Uniform Commercial Code
D. Unified Business Regulations
2-31
32. Question?
What publication produces a daily compilation of
new regulations issued by federal agencies?
A. Federal Register
B. Washington Post
C. Federal Post
D. Register of Federal Rules and Regulations
2-32
33. Question?
What is a network of interacting conditions that
reinforce one another?
A. Closed system
B. Complex adaptive system
C. Simple adaptive system
D. Open system
2-33
34. Question?
What part of the Constitution changes provisions in
the original articles?
A. Bill of Rites
B. Change policy
C. Amendments
D. Articles
2-34
35. Question?
Which precedent is a court free to follow or
ignore?
A. Persuasive precedent
B. Binding precedent
C. Required precedent
D. Credible precedent
2-35
Notes de l'éditeur
Cross-Cultural Notes
Legal systems in many Latin American countries have been shaped by the colonial history of the region. Since gaining independence, Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, and Argentina, for example, have each retained a strong centralized government that is molded after colonial rule. Claiming to be democratic, these governments, like their colonial predecessors, often disregard or change the law when it becomes inconvenient.
Background Information
Under the Articles of Confederation, the official name of the country was the United States of America.
Background Information
Article XI of the Articles of Confederation provided for the direct admission of Canada to the confederation. Congress retained control over the admission of any other colony by requiring a super majority vote of nine states.
Further Reading A very practical work on the U.S. Constitution is The Constitution of the United States
with the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation by R. B. Bernstein (New York:
Barnes and Noble, 2002). Another book that discusses such concepts as the separation of powers in
its original form is The Second Treatise of Government by John Locke (Mineola, NY: Dover 2002).
State Variations California’s constitution has been amended over 350 times. The constitution of each state may be reviewed at http://www.findlaw.com/llstate-gov/indexconst.html. Nebraska is the only state with a unicameral (one-house) legislature. Other states are considering changing to a unicameral system. A citizen’s group in Minnesota is advocating that the state adopt a unicameral legislature to be more open, responsive,
accountable, and effective.
The preemption of a state statute can occur in three situations. First, Congress can be very clear about its intent and explicitly state that the federal statute preempts any state statute that covers the same issues. If that is the case, then all that remains for the courts is to determine which statutes are covered by the preemption clause. Second, state statutes can be preempted by federal statutes when they conflict with the objectives of federal legislation. Third, the courts will preempt a state statute that has entered an area of the law that is traditionally an area that the federal government handles, such as foreign affairs or banking.
The word code comes from the Latin codex, referring to the trunk of a tree. In ancient times,
laws were carved into wooden tablets made from tree trunks.
Background Information
One of medieval common law’s most important contributions to modern times is the concept of the supremacy of law. Under common law, no ruler or government agency had the authority to overturn the decisions of the past, thus limiting their powers. Today, economics and social justice are protected by courts that look to precedent rather than solely to statutes.
Related Cases The Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade (93 S. Ct. 705) used previous decisions to find the constitutional right to privacy involving the right to abortions. First the Court decided a person has a right to choose whom to marry, then it ruled on a person’s right to birth control, and then a person’s right to procreate. From this precedent, the Court found the right to privacy.
