Reading 1 Reading Ideal Conceptions Natural Law o Body of principles of right and justice existing for all peoples irrespective of time and culture Positivist Conceptions o Law laid down by the duly constituted authority Historical Conceptions o Embodiment of a society s customs Sociological Conceptions o Law is the sum of what the lawbooks permit and what human behavior provides o Looks beyond logic and reasoning and examines what actually occurs in the legal o Judges make law in such a way as to preserve the existing political and economic order o Law is an instrument by which efficient economic outcomes are achieved Traditional legal doctrines of individual rights expose ways in which women have not been treated equally with men and seek to correct the injustice Call for reevaluating the law in light of culture of caring View the law as a means of male dominance that perpetuates the oppression Realist Conceptions process Critical Conceptions Economic Conceptions Feminist Jurisprudence o Liberal feminists o Cultural feminists o Radical feminists Sources of Law Legislature o Organized body of persons having the authority to make laws for a political unit o Laws created by a legislature are called statutes enactments acts or legislation Called written law o Legislation refers either to the process by which a statute is enacted or to the statute itself Executive o Also makes law o Presidential Lawmaking authority is limited by applicable constitutional provisions Consists of the president the cabinet and the agencies and bureaus operating under the president s authority Derived from ability to make treaties o Presidential Authority over Domestic Affairs Limited by the Supreme Court s interpretation of the Constitution Judiciary o When court decides a dispute it makes a law o Judge made law is referred to common law Administrative Agencies Areas of law that have been developed principally by the courts o Have the power to affect the rights of private parties o Housed in the executive branch of the government but are created by the legislature Interaction among the Various Sources of Law o Checks and balances Legal Reasoning Doctrine of Stare Decisis o Policy that courts have developed as a general rule Reading 1 o Ruling in one court sets precedent for all future like cases in courts of the same jurisdiction Obiter Dictum o Indicate what the court is likely to do in the future Class 10 15 2012 Nature of Law and Legal Reasoning Juris groups abstract terms and different conceptions o What it means is that at an abstract level there are people in the system are aware of what type of legal concept others follow It translates into what kind of views they have on certain issues and how decisions are made o Blacki belongs to a realist conception of law o Field that business people like is the economic concept o Economic law has changed a lot of things and has forced there to be Cost benefit analysis on some actions enacted by law o Conceptions Difference between Historical looks at law as a product of history gives meaning to law by taking context of when it was written in history and the meaning of the words in the law o Example Germany at one time was a collection of German states and along came leaders that talked about Germany being a nation Sociological looks at law with a current approach using social research to help o Example Labor law National Labor Relations act employers don t have to recognize unions occupy wall street and other movements created violence o Equal pay act equal pay for equal work no matter of sex Statue defines as skill effort and responsibility got these ideas from management field of study o Healthcare studies of economists draft a law that would provide benefits to individuals while it wouldn t distort the system o Sources of law All branches make laws Executive branch doesn t have a much jurisdiction over making law than they claim too All they can do is sign a law that congress has passed Would be wrong to say only legislative branch makes law Judge made law is very common Branches Legislative o Typically talked about how a bill is introduced in Congress and then to Senate and to President Very vague and simple idea of how laws are made o Real process is more in depth Law or idea is proposed Requires congressman or senator to introduce bill Goes to a committee Example Non Discrimination act Bill that would add to the prohibited blah blah blah bill was introduced in house and senate has been hearings on it in senate no Reading 1 hearings in the house In the senate it has been assigned to a committee and has had hearings Bill is dead in water in house Needs to get pass point of committee hearings and needs to get voted on in both parts senate and house If it does pass both houses if it is not exactly the same they have to get together in a conference committee and work out changes Not much gets done when the two houses of Congress are from different parties Executive Judiciary o President has greatest authority in foreign policy He is the commander in chief of the armed forces o Judges say courts don t make law because they don t want to seem politically incorrect o All countries that are part of the British Empire have the common law tradition Common Law Legislation trumps common law A lot of countries of world operate under codex Italy France virtually every other country in world has a codex which has laws for everything defined Huge areas where there is no legislation where judges courts have made law Contract Law Tort Law Legislation can be made based off of common law In absence of legislation then courts make common law Once court makes a law it is binding to that court and all inferior courts in the system o As a business executive we can rely on the past rulings of courts Gives certainty to help manage risk Can use to make contracts for suppliers rents and much more Can make plans and decisions and strategies to carry on business o Cases Desh Hotel Wife cannot If husband wanted to bring suit of injury on wife it s okay because she is his property If wife wanted to bring suit of injury on husband not okay because she is his property Court says this is a First Impression because there are no precedents o Talked a lot about smaller cases where the precedents didn t really matter West vs Same decision but husband cannot bring suit of injury on wife o Point is you see courts giving reasons why they rule in the way they did Important to understand the