u Law: formal body of rulesu Enacted by public officialsu Enacted in legitimate manneru Backed by force of sanctionsu Importance: defines norms, gives people a voice, notice of what's acceptable behaviors, mirrors morals and customs of a regionu Types of law:u Criminalu Civilu Constitutional: supreme law of the land(supremacy clause),bill of rightsu Common: inherited law from England, 49/50 states have legal systems that were influenced by common law, except we change with the timesu Statutory: legislatures enact criminal and civil statues, local, state, and federal lawsu Case: related to constitution and statitory law, judicial decisions from appealed court cases,u Binding authority: judicial review cant change bc it is an supreme Court decisionu Persuasive aauthority: can be changedu Adminastrative law: legislature can delegate power to companies(ie. FDA,DDS, FAA,OSHA)u Legislative: makes laws(house of rep and senate)u Executive: carries out laws (president and cabniet)u Judicial: interprets laws(4 federal courts)u Lawmaking process:u Issue is raised,support buildingu Bill moves to congressional committeeu Standing committee: permanent committeeu Select(special committe): there to handle special or emerging problemsu Joint committee: permanent committee with people from both house and senate to settle arguments between he twou Bill sent to opposite side (house to senate/ senate to house)u Then to presidentu Policy: course oGuidlinesGuidelines designed for the welfare of society and it's citizensu More informal than a kawu Policy making process:u Agenda settingu ID problem, brainstorming meeting, media influence, lobbyist, intrest groupsu Policy formulationu All 3 branches involved, debate between government and the public, will either be a new law or modification of one,media involvementu Policy adoptionu Compromises worked out,strategy selected for the problemu Policy implementationu Rule put into action, implemented by bureaucrats,officials, and courtsu Policy evaluationu Study if the policy is working well and if it is still needed, evaluated after some time it has been enforcedu (Sometimes) policy