An Overview of the U.S. Legal System

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© 2015 Cengage Learning
Prepared by Tony Wolusky, J.D. , Metropolitan State University of Denver
Chapter 2
An Overview of the
U.S. Legal System

2. © 2015 Cengage Learning
 Throughout history, law has regulated human
interactions for different reasons:
o Protect society’s interests.
o Deter antisocial behavior.
o Enforce moral beliefs.
o Uphold individual rights.
o Support those in power.
o Punish lawbreakers.
o Or seek retribution for wrongdoing.

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 Consensus Theory
o Holds that individuals in a society agree on basic
values, on what is inherently right and wrong, and the
laws that express these values.
o Social contract exists where individuals agree to give up
a portion of their individual freedom to benefit the
security of the group.
 Conflict Theory
o Holds that laws are established to keep the dominant
class in power.
o Explains how laws protect the interests and values of
the dominant groups in society.

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 Purpose of criminal justice system often discussed in terms
of the Crime Control Model and the Due Process Model
 The Crime Control Model:
o emphasizes the repression of criminal conduct.
o criminal justice system must bring criminal behavior under tight
control.
 The Due Process Model:
o emphasizes the rights of the individual.
o rests on the presumption of innocence.
o individual rights are not to be sacrificed for the sake of efficiency.

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 The basic purpose of the legal system is:
o To ensure fairness in balancing individual and
society rights and needs, while preventing
excessive government power.
 Scales of justice represent keeping individual and
societal needs in balance.

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 Facts: Roe (P), a pregnant single woman, brought a class
action suit challenging the constitutionality of the Texas
abortion laws. These laws made it a crime to obtain or
attempt an abortion except on medical advice to save the
life of the mother.
 Issues:
o Do abortion laws that criminalize all abortions, except those
required on medical advice to save the life of the mother,
violate the Constitution of the United States?
o Does the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
to the United States Constitution protect the right to privacy,
including the right to obtain an abortion?

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 Holdings:
o Yes. State criminal abortion laws that except from criminality
only life-saving procedures on the mother’s behalf, and that
do not take into consideration the stage of pregnancy and
other interests, are unconstitutional for violating the Due
Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
o Yes. The Due Process Clause protects the right to privacy,
including a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy,
against state action. The decision gave a woman total
autonomy over the pregnancy during the first trimester and
defined different levels of state interest for the second and
third trimesters.

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 Early English judge-made law, based on custom and
tradition that was followed throughout the country is
known as Common Law.
 Royal judges traveled through territories to apply a broader
or national norm as cases were decided. Law became
more common throughout the country.
 It is synonymous in American law with case law- based
on previous cases.

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 Common law depends heavily on precedent
(prior cases) and the doctrine of stare
decisis.
o Latin for “let the decision stand.”
o Requires that decisions in one case shall
be followed in all later cases having the
same or similar circumstances.
o This ensures consistency in the law.

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 The purpose of the Constitution
remains to ensure individual liberty by
limiting government power.
 The law itself controls government by
restricting how and when government
can and cannot interfere with citizen’s
lives.

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 Human nature dictates that different needs are
perceived at different times.
o Effective law should be flexible enough to
respond to these changes.
 American law is referred to as a living law,
because it is not stagnant.
o It can change, expand or rescinded (repeal) to
serve the overall system.

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 Statutory law- laws set by legislatures or
governing bodies having jurisdiction to make such
law.
o Statutory law can be referred as codified law.
o Codified law- law specifically set forth in organizes,
structured codes such as the US criminal code, state
statutes or local ordinances.
o Ordinances- laws or codes established at the local
level, that is, the municipal or county level.
 No statutory law can violate the
Constitution.

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 Facts: Marbury was designated as a justice of the peace in DC
in the last days of John Adams's presidency, but these last-
minute appointments were never fully finalized. He invoked an
act of Congress and sued for his job in the Supreme Court.
 Issues: Is the Supreme Court the place for Marbury to get the
relief he requests?
 Holding: The Constitution was "the fundamental and
paramount law of the nation" and that "an act of the legislature
repugnant to the constitution is void." In other words, when the
Constitution--the nation's highest law--conflicts with an act of the
legislature, that act is invalid.
 This case establishes the Supreme Court's power of judicial
review.

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 Who is the victim? Is it a public wrong (criminal) or
a private wrong (civil)?
 The victim in criminal law is the community,
because it disrupts the community. Society’s
welfare has also been violated.
o This is why the governments name,
representing the people, versus the defendant
appears on court docket.
• US v. Smith, State of Florida v. Smith

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 Crimes- Acts defined by federal or state statute or
local ordinance that are punishable; wrongs
against the government and the people it serves.
• Ex.- murder, rape, robbery, etc.
• Also called “penal codes”– criminal codes or
laws
 Tort- civil wrong by one individual against another
• Ex.- child support, eviction, divorce
• Plaintiff v. Defendant (Smith v. Jones)

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 Sometimes there is overlap of criminal and
civil law.
o A drunk driver causes a crash and hurts an
individual.
o Is this criminal or civil?
• It can be both. Can be guilty of DUI (crime) and be
held civilly liable for the injuries caused to others by
the tort committed.
• The government would pursue criminal charges.
• The victim would file a lawsuit in pursuit of damages
for medical bills or car repair.

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 A legal citation is a standardized way of referring to a
specific element in the law.
 It has three basic parts:
o a volume number
o an abbreviation for the title, and
o a page or section number.
 For example, the official cite for the Miranda case is
Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).
 Sometimes additional cites, known as string cites, are
given.
o A string cite for this case would be Miranda v, Arizona,
384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct 1502, 16 L.Ed. 694 (1966).

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 Facts: Carter, Johns, and Thompson were arrested after a
police officer observed them through a window bagging
cocaine in Thompson's apartment.
 Issue: Under the Fourth Amendment, do household
visitors have the same protection against unreasonable
searches and seizures as do residents or overnight social
guests?
 Holding: No.
 Rationale: People who visit someone's home for a short
time do not have the same protection against
unreasonable police searches and seizures as do the
residents or their overnight guests.

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 A legal opinion usually contains:
o a description of the facts,
o a statement of the legal issues presented,
o the relevant rules of law,
o the holding, and
o the policies and reasons that support the holding.
 The holding of the case is the rule of law applied to the
particular facts of the case and the actual decision.
 A court may affirm (support), reverse (overturn), or remand
(return the case to the lower court).

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 A case brief is an outline of a legal case that
contains:
o the case name and citation,
o a summary of key facts,
o the legal issues involved,
o the court’s decision,
o the reason for that decision, and
o any separate opinions or dissents.

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 Shepardizing a case involves using Shepard’s
Citations.
 This is a reference that tracks cases so legal
researchers can easily determine whether the
original holding has been changed through any
appeals.
 Relying on a case that has been overturned or
otherwise rendered invalid could prove disastrous
for the attorney and their client.

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 The court has two main functions:
o settle controversies between parties, and
o to decide the rules of law that apply in the specific case.
 Article III of the U.S. Constitution established the federal
judicial system.
 The types of cases a court can hear depend upon its
jurisdiction:
o The authority of a legislative body to establish a law or a
court to hear case.
o The authority a law has over a specific group of people.

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 Facts: President Jimmy Carter acted without
congressional approval in ending a defense treaty with
Taiwan.
 Issue: Did Congress have a constitutional role to play in
the termination of the treaty?
 Holding: The case was not proper for the Court to
consider.
 Rationale: The majority believed that the issue involved a
political question, namely, how the President and Congress
would conduct the nation's foreign affairs.

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 Facts: Passengers in a car attempted to suppress
shotgun shells found in the car.
 Issue: “[W]hether standing [can] be established in the
absence of ownership of the property seized.”
 Holding: No.
 Rationale: The Court did not accept the “target” theory,
and reaffirmed Jones v. United States. The petitioners had
no standing and no “legally sufficient interest in a place
other than his own home.” The petitioners “could [not]
legitimately expect privacy in the areas which were the
subject of the search and seizure each sought to contest.”

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 The US judicial system is two-tiered, consisting of
state and federal court systems.
 At either tier, there are three levels:
1. Lower court (trial court)
2. Appellate court
3. Court of last resort (Supreme court)
 These levels exist to assure that if either side
thinks procedural rules were violated, they can
appeal the case to a higher court.

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 Judges
 Lawyers
 Clerks of the court
 Sheriffs
 Marshals
 Bailiffs

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 Standing
o Having an actual interest in the matter of dispute.
 Mootness
o Exists when the issues that gave rise to a case have
either been resolved or have disappeared.
 Ripeness
o When a case comes to court too soon.
o Courts cannot get prematurely involved in a case that
can be resolved through other means.

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 The courts are only one component of the American
system of justice.
 There are also law enforcement and the correctional
systems.
 Law enforcement officers are known as the “gatekeepers”
of the criminal justice system.
 Correctional officials handle the offenders after a court
renders that they are guilty of a crime.
 The juvenile justice system is also composed of the courts,
law enforcement and corrections, though some of the
guiding principles and rules are different.