American Law and Legal Systems

by Calvi, James V.; Coleman, Susan

• ISBN13: 9780130993113
• ISBN10: 0130993115
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Summary

This volume presents a clear examination of the philosophy of law within a political, social, and economic framework. Coverage introduces readers to operative legal concepts, everyday law practices, substantive procedures, and the intricacies of the American legal system. Eliminating confusing legalese, the authors skillfully explain the basics--from how a lawsuit is filed to the final appeal--and review English legal roots. The survey addresses history and the law, court organization, procedure and evidence, limitations, constitutional law, criminal law, administrative law, environmental law, torts, contracts, and property law. For those interested in a greater understanding of the American legal system.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
1 Introduction	1	(18)
Functions of Law in Society	2	(2)
Sources of Law in Society	4	(4)
Kinds of Law	8	(7)
Bob Jones University v. United States	15	(4)
2 History and the Law	19	(22)
Law Through the Ages	19	(8)
The English Heritage	27	(5)
The American Experience	32	(3)
The American Legal Profession	35	(6)
3 Court Organization	41	(33)
The Federal Court System	42	(6)
State Court Systems	48	(4)
Judicial Selection	52	(13)
Removal of Judges	65	(9)
4 Procedure and Evidence	74	(34)
Alternative Dispute Resolution	75	(2)
Civil Procedure	77	(13)
Criminal Procedure	90	(5)
Rules of Evidence	95	(13)
5 Limitations	108	(16)
Judicial Restraint	108	(7)
Legal Limitations	115	(9)
6 Constitutional Law	124	(36)
Judicial Review	125	(7)
Constitutional Interpretation	132	(5)
Major Constitutional Doctrines	137	(23)
7 Criminal Law	160	(43)
Characteristics of Criminal Law	162	(2)
Elements of a Crime	164	(5)
Procedural Criminal Law	169	(13)
Punishment	182	(6)
Juvenile Justice	188	(4)
Two Case Studies in Criminal Law	192	(11)
8 Administrative Law	203	(18)
Delegation Theory	205	(10)
Judicial Review and Administrative Law	215	(6)
9 Environmental Law	221	(20)
Environmental Law Jurisprudence	222	(4)
Major Environmental Legislation	226	(4)
Issues of Environmental Law	230	(11)
10 Torts	241	(17)
Negligence	242	(6)
Intentional Torts	248	(5)
Strict Liability	253	(1)
General Tort Defenses	254	(4)
11 Contracts	258	(20)
Contractual Terms of Art	259	(1)
Formation of Contracts	260	(3)
Breach of Contract	263	(3)
Rules of Construction	266	(1)
Uniform Commercial Code	267	(3)
Consumer Law	270	(2)
Business Relationships	272	(6)
12 Property	278	(27)
Estates	279	(7)
Inception of Title and Liens	286	(2)
Probate and Succession	288	(4)
Trusts and Gifts	292	(2)
Intellectual Property	294	(11)
13 Family Law	305	(24)
Role of the State in Family Relationships	306	(2)
Marriage	308	(5)
Dissolution of Marriage	313	(8)
The Parent-Child Relationship	321	(8)
14 Conclusion	329	(8)
Law as Protector and Oppressor	330	(1)
Law and Politics	331	(1)
Law and Society	332	(1)
Law and Economics	333	(2)
Final Reflections	335	(2)
Appendix: Legal Research	337	(11)
Glossary	348	(16)
Index	364

Excerpts

In the fifteen years since the publication of the first edition ofAmerican Law and Legal Systems,many changes in it have been made. Chapters have been added, deleted, and re-instated. These changes reflect our views about the importance of legal subfields as well as changes that have taken place in the legal environment. Our goal has always been to present as broad an overview of the various subfields as possible within the constraints of time and pages in an textbook. But as with any introductory textbook, the best we can do is to whet the reader's appetite and hope that he or she will want to learn more about the law. In the process, we hope we have conveyed our understanding of and love for America's law and its legal systems. It is tempting when writing a new edition to stay with what has worked in the past. The examples used, especially the case studies in several of the chapters, were chosen to illustrate key concepts. The case ofRummel v. Estellethat appears at the end of Chapter 7 is illustrative. On March 5, 2003, the United States Supreme Court handed downLockyer v. Andrade,its long-awaited reconsideration of the so-called threestrike rule. We debated whether we should replaceRummelwithLockyer,which, after all, was supposed to be a more recent interpretation of the Court's thinking on three-strike laws. However, after some consideration we rejected that idea.Lockyerdiscussed the three-strike rule in a very peripheral way as a procedural matter surrounding the grant or denial of a petition for habeas corpus. It did not, in our opinion, speak to the philosophical debate over the fundamental fairness of the three-strike rule. So, we stayed with the more familiarRummelcase because it is a better example of the points of substantive criminal law we wished to illustrate. At other times, we replaced examples that might have been pertinent to an earlier generation of students with ones we deemed more relevant to today's students. Even O.J. Simpson loses his pedagogical power after a while. In a collaboration that has lasted longer than many modern marriages, the list of persons to thank becomes very long indeed. We wish to thank our colleagues in the Department of History & Political Science at West Texas A&M University for their encouragement and support. We especially want to thank Marilyn McMillen, our departmental secretary, who has been an increasingly invaluable assistant with each new edition. Our special thanks to those who reviewed our revision plan and made helpful suggestions: Kathleen Moore, University of Connecticut, Storrs and Howard Schweber, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Finally, we want to thank the people of Prentice-Hall and Carlisle Publishers Services for their help in making this new edition possible. First, our thanks to Charlyce Jones-Owen, Editor-in-Chief, who stepped in for former Political Science Editor Heather Shelstad. Next, we would like to thank Production Liaison Joanne Hakim and Manufacturing Buyer Sherry Lewis, both of Prentice-Hall. Our special thanks goes to Brenda Averkamp of Carlisle Publishers Services for coordinating the editing and production of the manuscript.