M1.6 - Law and the Legal System

law

• sources of law

• division of legal authority

• language of the law

• etc

the role & study of law

• to function as the main tool with which we organize ourselves as an advanced, democratic society

• study of human beings, particularly their evolving customs, beliefs, and value system

• a society as sprawling and complex as ours needs formal, enforceable rules of law to provide a measure of control

• think of “law” not just as words on a page, but as the many interacting parts that are involved in drafting those words in the first place, and in bringing them to life once they have been enacted as laws. thus consider law as a system by which rules are created, disseminated, enforced, violated, disputed, interpreted, applied, revised, etc.

legal right

• power or privilege that has been guaranteed to an individual under the law

• legal rights presuppose that their enforcement can be achieved through public institutions

  • federal medicare program

source of law

• the laws meant to maintain order, define the outer limits of our interactions with others and with the government, and delineate legal rights and responsibilities

• primary sources include constitutions, statues, regulations and common law/case law

constitutions

• establishes a government and delineates fundamental rights and obligations of that government and of individuals who fall within the territory covered by the constitution

  • federal constitution

  • state constitution

• constitutional interpretation

  • living

  • moral

  • originalism

  • strict constructionism

state constitutions

• provide organizational structure of the particular state’s government

• state constitutions cannot limit or take away rights conferred by the US Constitutions, some state constitutions go further than federal law in conferring rights or extending protections

• easier to amend and are done more frequently

statutes

• laws written by legislative bodies at all levels of government

• written as broad policy statements, and often need for courts to interpret and apply general statues to specific legal cases or controversies

• state legislatures have greater ability than does Congress to use statutes to regulate issues

regulations

• specific regulations written to assist with the implementation of statutory directives and to promote their underlying policy goals

• create by administrative agencies of the executive branch of government

common laws

• court opinions interpreting and applying law to specific cases

• based on the traditions and customs of society, yet heavily influence by legal precedent and the doctrine of stare decisis

key features of the legal system

• laws are only one component of the complex, interacting legal system

• others include the separation of powers doctrine, federalism, the role and structure of federal and state courts, judicial review, due process, and constitutional standards of review

separation of powers

• US government include three independent and equally powerful branches

  • legislative, executive and judicial

• the legal doctrine “Separation of Powers” supports the arrangement of shared governance

• includes concept of “checks and balances”

federalism

• allocation of federal and state legal authority

• under the constitution, the federal government is one of limited powers, while the states more or less retain all powers not expressly given to the federal government

• “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution…are reserved to the States respectively” - U.S. Constitution Amendment X

• states have most power on public health issues

  • marriage, divorces and adoptions

  • schooling

  • driving

  • medical

  • licenses

  • others

• federal government also have role in regulating health care and public health

  • taxation

  • spending

  • interstate commerce

• federal and state court each has unique authority and jurisdiction

the role of courts

• judicial: 3rd branches of government

  • two separate court systems: federal and state

• federal court system:

  • lowest-level court (a trial court) and two separate, higher-level courts (appellate courts and Supreme court)

• state has similar structure as federal, but not always

• courts have responsibility to determine what the Constitution means, permits and prohibits

• courts protect and enforce individual legal rights, determine whether the political branches of government have violated the Constitution, and maintain stability in the law through the application of legal precedent