Sociology of Law Midterm Practice

What is Consensus Theory

Our beliefs and understanding to what we know

Structural functionalism - agreement on the norms/values within society

What does it mean to have a Collective Conscience?

The set of beliefs, ideas, and morals that operates as a force in society

What is Conflict Theory?

Based off the dominant group (whatever they say, goes)

Dominant vs. Subordinate groups

Describe the difference between Micro and Macro:

Micro - on a social intimate level. Known as the subordinate group

Macro - on a large world scale. Known as the dominant group 

What is the Sociology of Law?

Intellectual project in which empirical data is used to explain the behaviour of legal actors.

“Law is not just formed by rules it is shaped by experiences”

Explain Durkheims Analysis:

The more developed a society is, the more complex the rules/regulations become

Inductive vs Deductive reasoning: 

Inductive - examines data and uses social traditions to come up with a conclusion 

Deductive - evidence found within research 

Law as a Normative System:

a set of standards reflecting societies values

Law as a Game:

legal positivism treats law as ritualized combat with formal rules. Victory goes not to the morally superior party but to whoever has the best command of rules & facts.

Law from a Sociological Perspective: 

Group behaviour - 

Social context - 

Fuzzy boundaries - 

Law as a Behavioural System:

This is where sociologists look for patterns of behaviour within Hierarchy/Roles & Rules/Discretion

The Classical School of Law:

Economic Rationality 

Individual Accountability

Deterrant Function 

Tocqueville’s Democratic Analysis:

Judical Power

Popular Participation

Historical Materialism

Marx developed Historical Materialism by study society through opposing forces that are fundamentally economic in nature.

Marx’s Instrumentalist Theory of Law: 

• Bourgeois Instrument 

• Legal Inequality 

• Bourgeois Ideology

The American Sociology developed three principles:

1. Folkways

2. Mores

3. Laws

What is Formal Sociology?

Examined how a number of people can affect social forms that lead to conceptualization of law in relation to its customs and morals

Gemeinschaft vs Gesellschaft

Gemeinschaft - organized around family and village (thoughts within the community ie: the amish community)

Gesellschaft - based on mechanically structured around metropolis and state (based on society as a whole ie: all of new york city)

The Rationalization of Law

Social Relations -

Understanding -

Value-freedom -

Theory of Social Stratification

3 key concepts: 

• Class 

• Status

• Parties

Explain the Iron Cage of Modernity

It is a system that traps those who disagree. The ones not in power are restricted

How does Weber define Law?

law as a form of legitimate authority and a compulsory social order whose rules are enforced by a system of power that subjects perceive as mandatory. 

Frankfurt School Impact also known as…….

The father of critical thinking because they brought ideas that involved thinking critically about the issues

What is the main focus of Critical Legal Studies?

To focus on the oppressed group (the one not in power)

What is Feminist Theory?

Voiced women’s rights

a critical perspective that analyzes gender inequality and challenges patriarchal systems

What is Critical Race Theory?

Reaction to exclusion from race

What is Equal Treatment Theory?

The ability to include women and give them the same rights/fairness as men

What are the limitations to Equal Treatment Theory?

• Male baseline problem

• Pregnancy disadvantage

• Incremental change

Explain Dominance Theory:

focus on power differences between women and men 

What does it mean when it says one of the strengths of law is also its weakness?

the same qualities that make law effective can also make the law not effective

Ex: if the sentencing for crime is the same, this is good but we have to think of it as how extreme the crime was. It is not fair to have someone sentenced the same amount of years for stealing from a store compared to someone murdering someone

Explain common law evolution:

How the system of has become and changed over time

Criminal Law Standards

to ensure fair consequences regarding criminal offences

Rules that guide how criminal cases are held

Specialized Legal Areas 

law claims that rely on past beliefs/experiences to make decisions in law

What did Emile Durkheims work in law look like?

His work followed the Consensus theory that believes law is based on its beliefs and experiences from the past. That is what is shaped now.

His approach used structural functionalism to determine a collective conscience and group order.

What was Karl Marx belief in sociology of law?

He looked at the conflict theory which believed society was based on two groups: the dominant and the subordinate. The dominant group was the group that has a say in how law works because they hold the power

What is Benthams belief on the meaning “law as it is”

Looking at the view in a positivism view, law is the way it is and has always been that way. 

What are the 3 Dawns of the Social Sciences?

1. Natural Law Era - law viewed as a reflection to nature itself (our religion/beliefs)

2. Enlightenment Breakthrough - critically thinking about how law works rather than the belief that it is natural

3. Social Science Emergence - studying law/sociology by viewing it throughout social science

What does it mean “law is a symbolic human product, not a natural phenomenon”?

Law is the way it is because humans developed it that way

What does law from a sociological perspective mean?

Looking at law as a means to explain whats going on, to understand whats going on and why

As a behavioural system - sociologists look for patterns in behaviour to determine the extreme cases of law

The difference between power and authority

Power - the ability to make people do stuff

Authority - ones own ability to obey orders

What is Legal Positivism

the belief that law is made by humans.

Separates the ideals of what law is and what it wants to be

What is the most important point in the social sciences?

Content matters

What was Montesquieu’s belief on the culture of law?

He believed law was always there in a natural way.

Name the 3 key points of power within the french monarchy:

division of power across multiple bodies 

• legislative 

• executive 

• judicial 

What is Historical Jurisprudence?

The view of how law is in todays society vs what it was meant to be

Explain Herbert Spencers belief on Social Evolution: 

Mechanical vs Organic Solidarity

Mechanical - more traditional (our beliefs/practices)

Organic - division of labour (independent to one another)

What are the three tenets of Marxist Analysis?

• Ideology

• Politics

• Economy

What is Social Constructionism?

distinguish between what is real and what is socially constructed

Ex: 

What is ecofeminism?

Challenging the male ideas by promoting female culture

Explain the self-fulfilling prophecy:

Racial Profiling - making an assumption that black people are more likely to commit a crime, then there are more police watching black people, therefore they end up finding more black people to be criminals

Name some restrictions to the black movement in police profiling:

• Universal harassment

• Youths being targeted

• Disproportionate stops (being stop and questioned only because the colour of your skin)

What is dominant theory?

What is the silver lining of exploitation?

Brining in immigrants to work at less of a cost as someone who is white