LS308: Law and Society Unit 2 Seminar Unit 2 Discussion Review of Unit 1

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Agenda Review what we learned in Unit 1 Introduce Unit 2 Material Discuss Unit 2 Assignment Address Questions 2

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Review of Unit 1 What Did We Learn? (a) Law is essential to create and keep order, create and keep security, and impart justice. (b)Law reflects our collective thinking and attitudes. (c)Individuals think about things differently and individual thoughts and positions may differ from the collective thinking as expressed in the law (think about our discussion board- traditional vs. social science views). (d) Dangers exist of oppression and misuse. (e)Law is in an a state of flux always (f) What is justice? 3

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Review of Unit 1 (cont.) The Social Nature and Significance of Law Unit 1 Outcomes: Determine how legal decisions impact both society as a whole and us as individuals (Seminar) Compare the traditional and social science views of law (Wiki) Recognize assumptions on which the field of law and society are based (Activity) Assess the impact the role of justice plays in the study of law and society (DQ) 4

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Unit 2 Discussion (1 of 3) Understanding Law & Society Unit 2 Outcomes: Examine the definitions of law and the existence of law (Wiki) Assess the reasons people obey the law (CLA Activity) Assess the various explanations proposed by scholars for the existence of law (Seminar) Evaluate the various contemporary perspectives on law and its implications for society (DQ) 5

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Why Does Law Exist? “Laws are necessary to gain order, security, and justice”- Plato The existence of a civilization is not possible without law- Hobbs Law cannot be analyzed in a vacuum 6

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Unit 2 Discussion (2 of 3) Understanding Law & Society Discussion Scenario: Several recent cases have highlighted what some believe to be abuses in the legal system, and racial inequity in the way the laws are administered. An example of this is the trial that surrounded the police beating of Los Angeles native Rodney King in the year How much discretionary power should police, prosecutors, and judges have in terms of applying the law in specific cases? What empirical evidence is there that racial inequality under the law exists in our society today? To what extent are statistical patterns of evidence used to prove the existence of such inequality flawed? That is, do statistical patterns prove the presence of racial discrimination in sentencing? 7

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. The Need To Obey Must we obey all laws? If not, won’t we have anarchy if everyone just gets to pick and choose what laws they want to obey? Let’s review the video clips! 8

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Martin Luther King – Letter From Jail “There a just laws and there are unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that an unjust law is no law at all…One who breaks an unjust law must do it openly, lovingly,… I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him or her is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for law”. 9

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Explanations Of Law (a)Legal Formalism (b)Utilitarianism (c) The Historical School (d)Legal Realism (e)Sociological Jurisprudence (f)Functionalist School (g)Conflict School (h)Marxism 10

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Explanations Of Law (continued) (i)Critical Legal Studies (j)Critical Race Theory (k)Feminist Legal Theory 11

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Assignment 2 Let’s discuss. Please address how strong your opinions are. 12

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Unit 2 Discussion (3 of 3) Understanding Law & Society Extra! U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics Learn more about the legal theorist Emile Durkheim 13

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Unit 2: To Do Below is a summary of your assignments for this week. As you know, all of these assignments must be completed before the end of this lesson week. 14 Unit # and TitleLearning ActivitiesAssessments Unit 2: Understanding Law & Society -Read Chapter 2 in Barkan’s Law and Society - Take the Self Check - Visit the resources in Extra! Extra! - Review Key Terms Attend the Weekly Seminar Respond to the Discussion Board Complete the Writing Assignment

Confidential & Proprietary Internal Kaplan Use Only. Adjourn 15 Have a great week… “See” you on the Discussion Boards