PSCI 4396 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Microsoft Onenote, Enumerated Powers, Civi-Dt
25 Jan 2016
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Law is the set of authoritative rules made by government. Rules are authoritative in the sense it binds people and government, consequences to violating them. Right to apply punishment if law is not followed. Ability to enforce the law, reserved to the state. When we say a state is sovereign, has monopoly of legitimate use of force within its borders. Implies law is enforced consistently across cases, like cases are treated alike. Tricky thing to do, question about if courts actually treat cases the same. An individual knows ahead of time what happens if they violate a law. Part of our task is to understand why this is the case. Court might reverse itself on a previous decision. Courts should follow decisions of prior courts of similar cases. When two laws contradict, higher level laws apply. Most of the laws, in affect so long as they don"t contradict relevant constitutions. Example: epa"s rules regarding clean air standards, etc.
