SOC 170 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Hate Crime, Due Process Clause, Insanity Defense
16 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Statutes passed by congress, state legislatures, and local ordinances. Case law (a. k. a. common law, referring to court decisions) Constitution is the supreme law of the land, as stated in the supremacy clause. Statutory law- there are federal and state statutes as well as local ordinances that must be passed by a legislative body. Ballot initiatives work as a petition as a way for citizens to write laws for their state legislature. Case laws or common laws set precedents for future cases of similar nature. The legal function of the law is to maintain social order by protecting citizens from criminal harm: harms to an individual"s physical safety or property, harms to society"s collective interests. The social function of the law is to outlaw morally wrongful activities by reflecting the values and norms of society. Civil law- branch of law dealing with the definition and reinforcement of all private or public rights.
