1. La Loi et Le Peuple:
A Comparison of the French and American Legal Systems
Katie Smalley Centre ‘13
Brown Fellows Summer Enrichment Project 2012
Introduction The Interview Process Future Goals and Project Reflection
My capstone Brown Fellows Summer Enrichment Project, was Perhaps the most important, and complicated, aspect of my •Continue conducting interviews and researching comparative law
truly the culmination of my Brown Fellows enrichment experiences, project was the organization and completion of in-depth interviews. I throughout the fall semester
combining my various interests in French language and culture as began compiling a list of people during the spring semester, including a
well as my future goals after graduation. wide variety of individuals whose interaction with the law ranges from • Present in depth findings at Centre’s annual RICE symposium in
My past three summers within the Brown Fellows Program limited personal interactions to those who work intimately with the law April 2013
laid the foundation for my final project by allowing me to pursue in their profession. Throughout the month of June and early July, I
my individual scholastic goals. My state government internship, contacted those individuals and began to create my list of interview •This project has allowed me to accomplish the following:
Panama experience, and French immersion program were all very questions, being sure to create a set of questions that probed the
important steps that led me to creating this final enrichment cultural understanding of the law as an idea as well as the practical 1. Conduct a long term, in-depth, and bi-lingual research
project. function of the law within society. While in France, I completed a total project
of 6 interviews in both English and French, where I gained a truly 2. Live independently in a foreign culture
original perspective of French culture that extended well beyond what 3. Explore a topic that I am interested in pursuing as a career
I had learned in the classroom. 4. Develop stronger research, professional, and interpersonal
skills
Research Findings
Conclusion
• The Role of the Judge differs greatly between France and the United
States, varying in his or her ability to interpret the written law as well Overall, my final Brown Fellows summer enrichment project for
as his or her reliance upon the decisions of others. 2012 was one that was truly transformational, allowing me to learn
about myself and my chosen profession. As a senior planning on
• American lawyers are often perceived in a more negative light, both applying to law school for the upcoming year, this project has been
by French and American citizens, while French lawyers tend to be very beneficial for me as a future law student since it gave me a
viewed in a more neutral light significant amount of insight into the legal profession overall,
including history and comparative law topics. I look forward to using
• Both systems seem to create a sharp distinction, socially, politically, this foundation of knowledge in the future, both in law school and
Project Overview and even linguistically between those in the legal field and those who throughout my life.
are not. This concept of a social and linguistic difference between legal
Stage 1. French Senior Seminar Project, “The Code: Napoleon and and laypersons is one that I did not expect to find in French society,
Beyond,” discussing the creation and development of the even though this distinction is quite apparent in American society.
Code Napoleon, the basis of the French legal system
• Legal Education varies greatly between lawyers, judges, and legal
Stage 2. Research Paper, “Une comparaison entre les systèmes writers in France, whereas in the United States all three of those
légaux de France et des Etats-Unis et leur développement occupations require the same education
historique” comparing the history and development of the
French and American legal systems • Before I completed my interviews, I was not fully aware of the
cultural and historic importance of the Code Napoleon. I have since
Stage 3. Summer Library Research, focusing on the organizational discovered the truly revolutionary nature of the code as well as the
distinctions between the French and American legal systems, prominent place it has in French society. This code functions much
conducted on campus at Centre College like our American Constitution, as the most fundamental political
document in the country, outliving the majority of other French
Stage 4. Interviews, focusing on the public perception of the law, documents of its kind and providing the foundation for Civil Codes all Special Thanks to: Dean Fabritius, Allison Connolly, Milton
courts, and lawyers in society, conducted in Strasbourg, France over the world. Reigelman and the James Graham Brown Foundation