Laws and the Legal System

“Ignorance of the law is no excuse”

Daily Agenda for November 1stMake a Quiz-AppetizerVocabularyNotesCivics Bingo (Comprehensive Review)

Vocabulary for Today (Add to your notes)Jurisprudence misdemeanorCommon law lawsuitPrecedents tortsStatutePlaintiffDefendant felony

Objectives 6.01 Trace the development of law in American

society. 6.04 Identify ways citizens can be informed about

the laws.

Quotes from Hammuarbi

“If anyone committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death”

“If fire break out in a house, and some one who comes to put it out cast his eye upon the property of the owner of the house, and take the property of the master of the house, he shall be thrown into that self-same fire.”

“Eye for an eye”

Functions of LawLaws are sets of rules that allow people

to live peacefully in society.They make it possible for the majority of

people to deal with each other because “everyone” knows or should know, how to deal with each other.

Purpose of Laws Laws are meant to:

Keep the peace Administer justice through the judicial and law

enforcement system. Ensure safety and security Deter would-be criminals from committing crime. Resolve civil disputes over

Money, Property, contacts and other non-criminal matters.

Purpose of Laws: To be effective laws must be:

Fair And allow people to be treated equally.

Good Laws allow for punishments to be laid out clearly for law breakers. In addition, they must be reasonable.

In order to be a good citizen you must be informed about the law in order to obey it.

Early LawsHammurabi’s Code/LawTen CommandmentsRoman LawEnglish Law

Hammuarbi’s Code/LawHammurabi’s Code/Law dates back to

1760 B.C.The code has 282 laws that regulated

the behavior of Babylonians.By today’s standards, the code was

very harsh in terms of penalties for lawbreakers.

Hammurabi (Do not write this down) For example,

If you stole the property of someone, you had to pay back 10 times the value of the property otherwise you were put to death.

 If any one strike the body of a man higher in rank than he, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public.

   If a slave say to his master: "You are not my master," if they convict him his master shall cut off his ear.

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments were/are another

set of ancient laws. They are found in the Old Testament… They contain moral guidelines for how people

should behave toward one another. Thou shall not steal Thou shall not kill Honor thy father and mother Thou shall not covet Thou shall not covet thy’ neighbors wife etc.

Roman Law

Roman LawRoman law is based on jurisprudenceLike Hammurabi’s code, Roman

penalties for infractions were stiff. “If any person has stung or composed against another person a song such as was causing slander or insult to another, they shall be clubbed to death.”

The Different Types of Laws CivilCriminalPublic/Constitutional International

Criminal LawCriminal Law are laws that prevent

people from deliberately from harming each other or property

Under our current system, the Courtroom serves as an arena where lawyers argue their cases.

Criminal Law ContinuedThe plaintiff-the party that brings the

charges against the alleged criminal. Usually the plaintiff is the government.

The defendant is the person or group being charged with a crime.

Criminal LawCriminal cases are titled in terms of the

state against the defendant. Ex. State v. Miller State vs. Public Schools of Robeson

County

Criminal LawFelonies are serious crimesMisdemeanors are minor offenses

Your Assignment Classify the following types of crimes as

misdemeanors or felonies: Vandalism Murder Rape Kidnapping Robbery Writing Bad Checks Arson

Civil LawsCivil cases involve disputes between

People Groups of People Organizations Governments

In civil cases, the case is called a lawsuit when it goes to court.

Civil Cases ContinuedA lawsuit is a legal action in which a

person or group sues to collect damages for some harm that is done.

The person who files the lawsuit is known as the plaintiff.

Civil Cases In Civil Cases, individuals believe they have

lost something of value or something suffered some damage (emotional, psychological, physical damage) because of someone else’s actions.

Cases may involve contracts, family issues (divorce, custody, adoption, alimony, child support)

TortsTorts are also known as civil wrongs In these types of cases, people may

suffer injuries and blame another party is responsible because of negligence.

Public Law/Constitutional Law These laws involve rights guaranteed under

the Constitution. For example, if someone violated your right to

free speech the Constitution comes in as the final say in the actual case.

Constitutional laws are the highest laws in the land.

They serve as guide for our courts and legislatures whenever they deal with punishments and fines.

International Law International laws are laws that deal

with international affairs. They may involve

Treaties Border Disputes Trade Agreements

International LawCases involving international law are

settled in world courts.

Homework AssignmentQuestions 2-4 p. 351 due at the

beginning of the period.

Extra Credit The word of the week is citizenship. For extra credit you are to write a short essay

on what citizenship means to you. Your essay must have a beginning and closing paragraph. In addition, you must have three supporting paragraphs.

These paragraphs must contain 3-8 sentences and have supporting details. In other words, substance. Do not hand in an essay with five sentences.