The Prequel to the Study of Law

Lesson Overview

This course is required for a degree in Criminal Justice. While we address a number of the aspects of Law, I plan to draw your attention to issues within the criminal law, due process, and a just process.

Lesson one introduces legal studies as a profession and as an aspect of criminal justice, sociology, and political science. Paralegals, court reporters, court administrators, lawyers, and judges typically initiate their interest in law by taking a course similar to this one. You will also note that a number of court officers such as probation officers, parole officers, criminal investigators, correctional officers, police officers, and special appointed officers will also be responsible for knowing the form and function of the legal system. Of course, all of this depends on the jurisdiction, the state, and the level of authority. What is important is that one recognizes that law helps to form the process and the function by which these professionals engage in their assigned and, often times, sworn duties.

While our textbook may discuss paralegals, those in the social sciences as well will benefit from the information provided. Using this textbook as a foundation, you can readily comprehend criminal law, correctional law, appellate law, substantive law, and procedural law. Thus, law is a discipline within which one builds upon research, knowledge, critical thinking, and analytical skills.

Lesson Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Describe the opportunities within the legal professions.
2. Identify the sources of law and legal study found in precedent.
3. Acknowledge that legal study has terminology, process, and history that provide stability, fairness, and equity.
4. Develop the skills necessary to incorporate legal research, reasoning, and writing into academic pursuits.
5. Initiate case analysis on a primary level by reading the case.

PowerPoint Presentation of the Addressed Reading:

Notes: Each lesson begins with a review of the PowerPoint presentation for the specific chapters addressed. The PowerPoint will provide you an overview of the chapter topics, after which you should read the objectives as previewed in each chapter.

Click here to access the PowerPoint for Chapter 1 (print version).

Lesson 1 Road Map

Note: The purpose of the Lesson Road Map is to give you an idea of what will be expected of you for each lesson. You will be directed to specific tasks as you proceed through the lesson.

To Read:

1. Chapter 1: The Legal Community and Professional Responsibility
   
2. Chapter 19: Law and Technology: A Paralegal Perspective
   This chapter gives you information in case you wish to select an internship or summer assignment. It provides information about protocol, research, legal resources, and legal software.
3. Appendix II: Paralegals Have a Standard of Ethics

To Do:

1. Case Review Dropbox: Texas v. Johnson

Precedents and the Related Concepts

Case Review: Missouri v. Jenkins

Before we go deeper into the concept of precedent, let's look at the case of Missouri v. Jenkins (page 9 of your textbook). Recall we have said, "Law is a discipline within which one builds upon research and knowledge." Let's now apply it to the concept of precedent or stare decisis. When you read through the case, please consider the following questions:

• What was the issue in the case?
• Why were they in court?
• How did the court value the work of law clerks, paralegals, and recent law graduates in the Kansas City area?
• What is the difference among and between each of these legal classifications?

You can find these answers in your assigned readings.

Why Is Precedent or Stare Decisis So Important to the Legal System?

Precedent provides stability and continuity to the law. Thus, a legal system can be expected to be consistent and it is that consistency that will add to the speed in which law operates.  Likewise, if everyone knows the rules, then there is equity and equality, a concept from Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence (William the Conqueror brought it to England) carried to the Colonies by William Blackstone. Blackstone wrote one of the few legal textbooks that was the foundation for learning how to be a lawyer. Thus, an English concept was carried over to the practice of law in the United States. However, in England at the time of Blackstone, members of the monarchy were exempt from a number of the laws as well as precedent. Colonists moved toward equality using this legal concept and allowing no one to be exempt from a just process. Sometimes precedent is called case made law or judicial decision-making. Now judges may tweak the issues of the case but do so carefully and usually announce that the facts of the case need to be reviewed or that changes in society demand such a review. One example is the right to a lawyer at state expense and can be found in Gideon v. Wainwright (pages 105-107 of your textbook). We will discuss this later in lesson 5.

This leads to two other concepts within legal theories. Yes, there are more.

Sociological Jurisprudence and Historical Jurisprudence

Sociological Jurisprudence is the theory that the law changes in response to changes within society. Divorce, spitting on the street, medical marijuana, and domestic violence legislation are some examples. Usually this change in the law will take about ten to twenty years to occur.

Historical Jurisprudence is the theory that law is consistent through the ages. Marco Polo used laws in commerce and contracts that remain primarily unchanged. When you go to a hotel or a motel, the laws governing Inn Keepers has remained primarily unchanged for centuries. Here we are talking about 100 years or more.  If you are interested, read the Magna Carta at http://www.bl.uk/treasures/magnacarta/magna.html or the Justinian Code at http://ias.berkeley.edu/orias/summer2004/summer2004JustinianCode.htm.

Policy and Custom

Law continues to develop and refine what we in society do. Policy and custom are two important concepts when discussing law within society.

Policy usually means the implementation of a law or legal holding. Custom is the practice used in a jurisdiction by which those in the legal profession carry out their duties. Custom is not illegal or legal, as no challenges have been made in court on that determination. However, custom is an interpretation of how a policy may be carried out. For instance, in some jurisdictions, cases may only be filed on Wednesdays while other jurisdictions take the filings Monday through Friday. Thus, this is not a law but rather a custom of the court that is also referred to as the policy of that SPECIFIC court. Is it law—as in the statutes or the legal cases? NO!

How Does This Course Relate to Your Career?

Law Is Social Control

Who is given the privilege to control society is the nectar for historians, researchers, jurists, and now you.

I have selected a textbook appropriate for criminal justice, political science, sociology, and other majors within the social sciences.  It provides legal terminology, systemic models, evolutionary examples of law, legal writing, and analysis.

While this course will aid those on their way to law school, it is also intended for those who will engage in lifelong learning and scholarly pursuits since little can be done by a person today that is not within the realm of law and its practitioners.

Probation Officer Scenario

Perhaps you intend to become a probation officer and can't see the relevance of this course. A scenario might help to clarify how knowledge of the legal system will benefit you.

Scenario of Probation Officer Scenario Description: You attend the state Probation, Parole and Corrections Association annual meeting for the tri-state region and hear about a new technique in search and seizure with good results. You are in the field and have an opportunity to initiate it and do so. The result is an arrest and the confiscation of contraband. Probation officers may arrest those individuals on probation with or without probable cause. Having been convicted of a felony means that one's Constitutional Rights have been limited in response to their conviction. The Probation officer is arresting them for violating the conditions of their probation (violated the court's order to remain a law abiding citizen) and for a new charge (the contraband). On your way to a movie, you receive a call that the probationer's defense attorney is challenging your actions, as it is not listed in your jurisdiction's protocol. Do you lose the contraband that you used as the basis for a new charge? Your Role and Some Thought-provoking Questions: A law clerk, the legal secretary, the paralegal, the prosecutor, and the trial supervisor will investigate this question. You are the probation officer in the scenario and might ask yourself the following questions: Where did you hear about this new custom? Why did you use it? What type of results has this new practice produced for you? Who (probation office, jurisdiction, state) else uses it with success? You will have to answer the above questions in a legal memorandum and will take it into court. Since you cannot practice the law, you will have to disseminate the legal memorandum to the prosecutors, your office, and the chief of probation. The prosecutor will make the argument in court to the judge and the defense attorney will oppose it. Resources You may need the following information to succeed in your mission: Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences www.acjs.org American Correctional Association www.aca.org American Probation and Parole Association www.appa-net.org Instructor's Analysis Be sure that you read the scenario carefully and have the answers to the above Thought-provoking Questions in mind. After reading the scenario the second time, you can click here to view Instructor's Analysis.

As a probation officer, you have engaged in various legal activities, knowing the legal system though not engaging in the practice of law. As a professional in the legal system, be prepared for friends asking for legal advice. Give them questions to ask an attorney, so as to use their time—which is the attorney's billing time—wisely.

Here are some of my favorite questions: "Is it true that if...

• a Highway Patrol Officer gives you a ticket without wearing his hat, the ticket does not count?
• the officer does not show up to court, the ticket is dropped?
• I get a ticket in another state, it will never appear on my driving record?
• I swallow the drugs, no one will be able to prove I had them?"

Do you think you know answers to the above questions?

Higher Order Thinking

Definition

"Higher-order thinking requires students to manipulate information and ideas in ways that transform their meaning and implications. This transformation occurs when students combine facts and ideas in order to synthesise, generalise, explain, hypothesise or arrive at some conclusion or interpretation." (This definition comes from http://education.qld.gov.au/corporate/newbasics/html/pedagogies/intellect/int1a.html).

In the field of criminal justice, you must possess the critical ability to read and apply concepts to a number of circumstances and issues. Can you compare and contrast? Can you evaluate what you have read and come to a new way of thinking or looking at issues?

My Expectations

I may ask you to provide definitions but expect that I will want examples. I might also ask how two concepts differ in form, function, application, and so forth. Recall that I said, "Law is social control" (in page 4 of this lesson). A number of legal theorists have said the same thing before me, defining social control in a number of ways and through a number of applications.  I want you to see the possibilities and comprehend the responsibility you will incur if you enter a profession in which law is a primary factor.

If you wish to read about the law and expand some of the concepts I have discussed, please go to http://www.FindLaw.com. 

Case Review: Dixon v. United States

Now, Let's take a look at the case of Dixon v. United States. Click here to access the case of Dixon v. United States. In the case, the italics followed by blue numbers separated by U.S. are examples of precedent.  The Court used prior cases to engage in its reasoning and it is that consistency and stability that provides us with equality and equity. 

If you wish to read the rest of the case, please go to http://www.findlaw.com. You may also wish to Google the case by name and citation—Dixon v. United States. 509U.S. 688 (1993). If you are curious, you may use your dictionary or your text for assistance.

As students, you should go to the cases/supreme court at http://www.findlaw.com and place the name of the case in the information slots. I am not going to give specific direction to you. You need to play around with these sites, become familiar with them, and then ask questions. You may become frustrated but that's okay. I will take you through the cases approach step-by-step later. Right now you need to see the idea of precedent and that is what I have pointed out.

Legal study is a living discipline. There are always new court decisions or legal issues coming out. Please frequently check the New Court Decisions and Legal Issues folder in ANGEL for the lastest information.

Lesson 1 Assignments

Case Review Dropbox: Texas v. Johnson

• Read Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989) on page 33 of your textbook and answer the questions under Case Analysis on page 34 of your textbook.
• Submit your analysis to the Lesson 1 Texas v. Johnson Case Review Drop Box.

Notes: Think legally when you analyze this case. I am not asking if you agree or disagree. I am asking that you take special note of legal words, facts of a case, or how the courts viewed issues in a case. When we are discussing cases or when I refer to a case, I will begin by using the entire citation. This means I will use both parties names, the volumes where the case can be found, the reporter, the page, and the year. As this course progresses, I will refer to one party in the case or the holding in the case that made it famous. For instance, "Gideon" and "The Right to an Attorney." This last sentence will become clearer as we go on with the lessons.