Legal Systems, Arbitration, and Sociological Perspectives

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture transcript notes covering Separation of Powers, Common vs. Civil Law, Equity, Arbitration, Customs, and Sociological Perspectives on Law.

Horizontal Separation of Powers

The division of government power across three distinct branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.

Vertical Separation of Powers

The division of government power across different levels of government: Federal, State, and Local (county, city).

Procedural Law

Law that governs the rules and processes for interfacing with the legal system itself.

Substantive Law

Law that defines rights, duties, and what individuals legally can and cannot do.

Common Law

A legal system originating in English Medieval case law where judicial precedent is followed, judges act as passive arbitrators, and juries play an important role.

Civil Law

The most common global legal system, derived from Roman and Napoleonic codes, where law strictly follows written codes, judges are active inquisitors, and juries are non-existent or limited.

Writ System

A rigid historical requirement where individuals had to file a formal writ in advance before seeing a judge to prevent the judicial system from being overwhelmed.

Court of Chancery / Equity

A parallel legal system overseen by a chancellor created to resolve cases when the strict remedies of the court of law failed.

Debt Recovery Act of 1732

A British law that allowed creditors to seize debtor property, including enslaved people, and expanded colonial courts to enforce debt collection.

Jury Nullification

The act of a jury returning a 'not guilty' verdict despite evidence of guilt because the jurors believe the underlying law is unfair or unjust.

McBride v. Germanotta (2023)

A court case illustrating the contrast between law and equity, where recovery under contract law was denied under equitable principles because McBride had 'unclean hands.'

Delaware Court of Chancery

A specialized state court of equity without a jury where cases are decided by experienced judges, making it attractive to business entities.

Community Property System

A marital property regime in former Spanish colonies originating from Spanish Civil Law (Visigoths) that treats property acquired during marriage as jointly owned.

Mediation

A dispute resolution method focused on facilitating a mutually acceptable, binding agreement between conflicting parties.

Arbitration

A dispute resolution process where a private third party issues a binding or non-binding decision (award) outside of traditional court proceedings.

Contracts of Adhesion

Standardized, non-negotiable agreements presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis that often contain mandatory arbitration clauses.

Federal Arbitration Act of 1925

Federal legislation created with the intent to increase access to legal dispute resolution, particularly for marginalized communities treated unfairly by judges.

Double Institutionalization

Bohannan's concept that a social custom is restated in explicit legal terms so that other formal legal institutions can enforce and interact with it.

Usages (Weber)

Unthinking, habitual behaviors or customs followed without explicit reflection.

Conventions (Weber)

Social practices or usages backed by collective social disapproval or sanctions when violated, but lacking formal legal enforcement.

Law (Weber)

Social conventions backed by a specialized enforcement staff with the power to compel compliance or punish violations.

Legal Origins Hypothesis

A theory advanced by Chang (2024) asserting that modern legal frameworks are better explained by historical colonial origins than current economic conditions.

Superstructure (Marx)

The legal, political, and cultural institutions that rest upon and reflect the underlying economic power relations in a capitalist society.

Scooby-Doo Sociology

A methodological approach of examining multiple laws together to unmask capitalism and elite interests operating behind legal facades.

Lumpenproletariat

Marxist term referring to the lowest, non-class-conscious sub-layer of the population (e.g., vagrants, petty criminals) seen as parasitic on productive societal labor.

Oppression

A power dynamic in which a dominant group seeks to eliminate, expel, or harm a target group they do not rely on for labor or resources.

Exploitation

A power dynamic where a dominant group requires the presence and labor of a subordinate group, using legal structures to compel or retain a captive workforce.

English Vagrancy Laws (1200s)

Laws criminalizing unemployed non-locals, argued by Chambliss to create a captive labor force after the Black Death, and by Adler to preserve public order.

Black Act of 1723

An English statute that allowed elites to execute individuals found on enclosed private land with blackened faces used for camouflage while hunting.

Party Capability Theory

A theoretical framework explaining why wealthy entities with superior resources, documentation, and litigation experience ('Haves') consistently prevail in court.

Repeat-Player Advantage

The legal advantage held by individuals or organizations that frequently litigate, allowing them to optimize strategies, build judicial trust, and choose which cases to settle.

Desuetude

A legal principle where a statute loses its force and enforceability over time due to a long period of consistent non-enforcement.

Neo-Durkheimian Thesis (Rock)

The perspective that crime, public trials, and sentencing establish clear moral boundaries, reinforcing social solidarity against deviant behavior.

Expressive Function of Law

The capacity of laws to signal moral standards, social values, risks, and acceptable social norms independently of direct legal enforcement.