History and Philosophy of the American Legal System Flashcards
King’s Court of Common Pleas
also known as the “law court” decided cases very rigidly and strictly adhered to technical compliance with the law
Court of Chancery
was developed to address those cases in which relief was not found in the law court, but fairness and equity demanded that some kind of relief be granted. This court was staffed by high-ranking members of the clergy or church
Philosophy of Law
Four main philosophies of law that influence the way our laws operate:
1) Natural Law
2) Legal Positivism
3) Sociological Jurisprudence
4) Legal Realism
Natural Law
Emphasizes the individual’s right to make personal choices as long as those choices don’t interfere with another’s right to make personal choices.
Modern day example: Abortion
Legal Positivism
Emphasizes the institutional rule of law and that distinguishes law from morality. If the process used to adopt a particular rule is just (fair) and if no other rule exists to carve out an exception to that rule, the legal positivist adheres to the rule - even if it leads to a questionable result in a particular case.
The phrase, “Hard cases make bad law,” is often said by legal professionals to stress the importance of adhering to the institutional rule of law.
Sociological Jurisprudence
Promotes society’s values as the measuring stick for right and wrong; it evaluates a legal rule by looking at its social effect. Law is seen as a tool for social engineering.
Modern day examples: legalization of marijuana and gay marriage.
Legal Realism
This philosophy determines what reasonable people would do in a given situation and then sanctions that conduct.
Example: Reasonable person standard in negligence actions.
