Law+Society Final

reciprocal relationship

regarding law qnd social change, the idea that legal changes help create social changes and that social changes help create legal changes

legitimate authority

the idea that people willingly lend their obedience to their society's leadership because they see it as their obligation to do so

traditional authority

bases its claims to legitimacy on an established belief in the sanctity of traditions and the legitimacy of the status of those exercising authority (e.g., rule of elders)

Charismatic Authority

bases its claim to legitimacy on devotion to the specific and unusual sanctity, heroism, or exemplary character of an individual and the normative patterns that are revealed or ordained.

rational-legal authority

bases its claims to legitimacy on a belief in the legality of normative rules and in the right of those elevated to authority to issue commands under such rules

vested interests

refers to personal stakes in maintaining or changing a social policy or other arrangement to enhance one's wealth, power, prestige, or other attributes.

Please list the seven conditions that Evan (1965) listed for a new law to be successful in inducing social change

- The law must emanate from an authoritative and prestigious source• - The law must introduce its rationale in terms that are understandable and compatible with existing values

- The advocates of the change should refer to other communities or countries with which the population identifies and where the law is already in effect

- The enforcement of the law must be aimed at making the change in a relatively short time

- Those enforcing the law must themselves be very much committed to the change intended by the law

- The instrumentation of the law should include positive as well as negative sanctions

- The enforcement of the law should be reasonable, not only in the sanctions used but also in the protection of the rights of those who stand to lose by violation of the law.

explain why lawyers were unpopular in Colonial America

Lawyers were unpopular because the Puritans believed that the Bible should serve as law, and planters feared lawyers would threaten their political power. Lawyers were also associated with the upper class and British loyalists during the Revolution, and their elitist practices and role in collecting debts for wealthy creditors made them disliked by the public.

list the changes Dean Langdell of Harvard Law School made in legal education beginning in 1870

Dean Langdell introduced the case method and replaced textbooks with casebooks. He used the Socratic method of teaching, made admissions more selective, required written exams, lengthened legal education to two years, then later three years, and eventually required a college degree for admission.

List the four major subgroups of attorneys

- private practice

- government lawyers

- corporate/business lawyers

- members of the judiciary

summarize both the advantages and disadvantages of the Socratic method

The Socratic method helps students develop analytical thinking and works well in large classes. However, it can limit creativity and may lack intellectual stimulation for some students.

historical research

is a critical investigation of events, developments, and experiences of the past; a careful weighing of evidence of the validity of sources of information of the past; and the interpretation of the evidence.

matched pair technique

is when each person in the experimental group, another person similar in all important variables (e.g., age, religion, education, occupation, etc.) is found and placed in the control group.

random assignment technique

is when statistically random assignments of persons to experimental and control groups are made—such as assigning the first person to the experimental group and the next to the control group, and so on.

pure science

is a search for knowledge, without primary concern for its practical use.

social policy

refers to purposive legal measures that are adopted and pursued by representatives of government who are responsible for dealing with social conditions in society

policy making

refers to the process of identifying alternative courses of action that may be followed and choosing among them.

Weiss (1998) proposed several criteria that distinguish evaluation research from other types of research, which are...

- conducted for a specific decision-making purpose

- assessing the effectiveness or value of a program or intervention

- commissioned or used by stakeholders

- practical and action-oriented

- takes place in real-world settings