CJL3038 - Exam 1

Donald Black Remedial Style 1 - Therapeutic

Baker acting, drug problems, veterans, juvenile offenders, mental health courts: The deviant's behavior is abnormal. -The person needs help - recognizing that we need some sort of therapeutic element in resolving these disputes. Ex. Veterans; court punishes them as what they did wrong, but help them not commit the crime again.

Procedural Justice

Fairness in the processes of administering the law and resolving disputes.

Donald Black Remedial Style 2 - Conciliatory

Family court, child custody, divorce -The deviant's behavior is one side of a social conflict in need of resolution, with no right or wrong. Social conflict that needs to be legally resolved. -Most common conciliatory remedial style is divorce (no faulty divorce and child custody). -Social conflict that needs a legal resolution not necessarily being in the wrong.

Adjudication

Going through the court process, legally sanctioned means, medication. Way to dissolve dispute that's less formal than going through courts, but legally sanctioned.

Dysfunctions of Law: "Each Citizen is Equal before the Law"

Ideally, each citizen is equal before the law. But is this the case? - If we were using the law to reinforce these laws of power and status, then that wouldn't really be the case.

Conflict Paradigm and Two Types of Conflict

Describes the creation of Law as a result of conflict. Conflict is created when: disagreements about how people should behave, an injustice, a norm has to violated. Example: Nerf gun game being brought into classrooms. -Group Conflict -Elitist Conflict

Dysfunctions of Law

Is the legal system used to maintain and enforce current patterns of wealth and status? - You have to ask if the law is enforcing those patterns or whether they are serving to break those hierarchies down.

Crime Control Model

Seeks the punishment of lawbreakers, emphasizing the efficient detention of suspects and prosecution of defendants so that society can be assured that criminal activity is being contained or reduced. -Protect everyone in society but individual rights suffer. -Eg. California's three strikes law (Criminals convicted of a third felony, sentences to either 25 years to life or triple the regular sentence). -The crime control model is on the rise.

Paradigms in our society: The Consensus Paradigm

Some laws represent a consensus model better than others. -Murder? We all agree laws against murder our valued in our society, murder reflects a consensus model pretty well. -Robbery? Robbery reflects a consensus model. -Abortion? (Not as many going to raise hands and agree there should be laws against it) We don't all agree on this, so no abortion does not reflect a consensus model. -Drug Laws? More you regulate them, the safer they will be; free will. Spoke about arguments for and against drug laws. We don't all agree on this, so no drug laws do not reflect a consensus model.

Conflicting Goals: Rights of the individual vs. the common good (rights of society as a whole)

The law functions to protect both these rights (which are conflicting) and tension between these two rights is illustrated in legal decisions.

Ways of Knowing: Experience

-Small sample sizes Subjective/uncontrolled

Functions of Law

-Social Control - Order (most important function of the law) -Law is a formal means of social control - we socially control people within our society (goes along with Webers definitions of law) -Many methods of social control.

Community Law

-Social Group -Rules and Norms -Some things aren't forceable in a particular group. -We may disagree on what law could be. Values and cultures come into how we see the law in our society. -Some may overlap, others may not.

Our adversarial system forces jurors to choose between competing versions of the truth. Are conflict resolution and truth compatible?

-Some have argued that the primary purpose of trials is not to get at the truth but, rather, that trials are simply rituals that give society the feeling that conflicts are being resolved in a nonviolent way. -Illusion of fairness -The truth may be unknowable

Conflict vs. Consensus Cont.

-Some laws are better explained from one perspective over the other; but usually, you can see through both; can be talked about easily. -Both types of laws are considered ideal types - ideal laws don't generally exist in nature. -Ideal type - A law can never be purely consensus or purely conflict. It's always going to be a little of both. You can look at any given law and look at it from consensus or conflict. -Ideal type - Nature vs. nurture. Are people's behavior typically a product of their environment (nature) or a product of their genres -No law is only created because of a conflict or consensus paradigm. It's always going to be a little bit of both. -Powder cocaine (used by rich people) = less of a punishment than crack cocaine. Law benefits one group over the other (conflict) -Both are considered "ideal types"

Donald Black Accusatory Styles: Both Penal and Compensatory

-Sometimes, in a dispute, you'll have both. Not only did you violate the law, you also violated the other person and owe them some sort of restitution. -Civil part of it is largely up to the individual.

State Law

-State Legislature -Statues

What is law?

-System of rules and regulations that keep society in order. -Law has been defined and explained more than any other sociology concept. -Everyone has a different perspective (goal is to add perspective) in studying and interpreting the law. -We need to use a variety of definitions of what the law is to understand the interaction of law and society. -Each background will being a different understanding.

Other Definitions of Law

-System of rules and regulations to keep society in order. -Forum of value inquiry: you can tell a lot about society by looking at what is and what is not law. -Regime for the resolution conflict: Court exist to help us resolve conflict. -Regime of popular will: Reflection of what people want in society. The law truly becomes a true reflection of what the people vote on and what society wants. -Regime to preserve inequality and denial of freedom: People have looked at how the law perhaps maintains inequalities in our society instead of breaking them down. Perhaps the law exists to maintain those power structures.

Ways Of Knowing: Authority

-The "expert" effect

Choice 3: To Discover the Truth or Resolve Conflicts

Assumes trial as a truth finding mechanism. -Trial as a rational event. -Assumes the truth can be ascertained -Clash between two opposing sides will get a truth -Assumes a lot of accuracy of facts presented (no perjury)

Social Control

Attempts by states, organizations, and individuals to regulate human behavior. May refer to broad concepts or very narrow behavior or implementations.

Group Conflict: How power can be measured

-Coercive - Which group has more force, more weapons -Monetary - Which group is richer -Ideological - Membership that scribe to the ideologies from either group. -Other ways examples in class: population (more people willing to vote or protest), -You can also measure power in what is currently law (pro choice, because abortion is illegal. However, you can argue that pro life is gaining power due to abortion being restricted in certain areas). In that sense, you can look at power as something that can change over time.

Ways of Knowing: Science

"...it is necessary that a method should be found by which our beliefs may be determined by nothing human, but by some external permanency- by something upon which our thinking has no effect...the method must be such that the ultimate conclusion of every man shall be the same. Such is the method of science. Its fundamental hypothesis... is this: There are real things, whose characters are entirely independent of our opinions about them (Charles Pierce)."

Max Weber

"An order will be called a law if it is externally guaranteed by the probability that coercion (physical or psychological), to bring about conformity or avenge violation, will be applied by a staff of people holding themselves especially ready for that purpose" Meaning: -There has to be a consequence for violating that law; seeing punishment other people get by that behavior. --External mechanism for making sure people adhere to the law, applied by a staff of people (law enforcement, courts, independent institutions).

Donald Black

"Law is the normative life of a state and its citizens, such as legislation, litigation, and adjudication".

Donald Black Quote and Meaning

"The law in its majestic equality forbids the rich and the poor from sleeping under bridges, begging in the streets, and stealing bread" (Black) -Law applies unevenly across different groups. Ex. Blacks are more likely to get death penalty than whites. "You can do this by measuring the law".

Ways of Knowing: Common Sense

-"Everybody knows that..." -Common sense is often contradictory or unhelpful

Ways of Knowing: Intuition

-"Gut" reaction, feelings about a phenomenon

Ways of Knowing: Science (cont.)

-Allows for built in "Self-correction" Test alternative plausible hypothesis -Replicate findings; share with the world and open up science to scrutiny for evaluation (data, theory, etc.) -Testing procedures open to public inspection Guilty or innocent? -Just because someone was not guilty doesn't mean they're not innocent; not enough evidence to reach threshold -Multiple people looking at the same set of data. Example: watching violent TV causes more violent behavior in children? Multiple people that observe the same behavior -Limit what kind of violent content children should watch Perhaps a PG-10 -Science based policy! Policy is more likely to be effective, because it is based on science. -Science should all go through peer review, and if you ended up making new rules based on science, you want to make sure it is effective. -Designed to instill "objectivity" -"A theory is something other than myself" (Polanyi)

In common with both Cardonzo and Holmes

-Both talk about precedent and predictability about law. -In our common law system, the courts use previous court cases to decide how future court cases will turnout. -So, by understanding what has happened in the past in response to the violation, we can predict what the courts are going to do with similar violations in the future.

Dysfunctions of Law: Conservative Tendencies

-By establishing a social policy of a particular time and place (based on present; based on status quo) or by making the precedents of the past binding, the law exhibits a tendency toward conservatism. -The law thrives on maintaining the status quo, allows our law to be more predictable (a good thing but also negative) -Makes our law have conservative tendencies. -We favor status quo over constantly changing the law. -When it is created, reflects our values. -Enforcing to our legal systems values that perhaps aren't best 100%.

Local Law

-City Town Council -Ordinances

Dysfunctions of Law: Max Weber

-Defined law as coercive order; an order that has the potential backing of the full force of the state. -Becomes problematic because we are forcing the idea that we are unequal or in hierarchies.

Functions of Law: Dispute Settlement

-Dispute Settlement: Once those rules of social control or once there violated then the law is one means that we can use to resolve a particular dispute. -Alternative to other means of dispute resolution - Historically, we've seen fighting or fueling but the law is an alternative to those other ways to dispute settlement. -The law offers a formal means of dispute settlement.

Universal Law

-Divine Rules -Moral mandates most people believe to be correct (ex. religion) -Sometimes will overlap and contradict each other.

Dysfunctions of Law: Donald Black (law primarily as social control)

-Donald black considers law primarily as governmental social control that makes use of legislation, litigation, and adjudication. -He thought that societies and organizations may have more or less law according to how much they make use of those mechanisms of legislation, litigation, and adjudication. -Certain kinds of discrimination are inherent in the law itself (Black 1989) - law applies to everyone, every law that is created should be equally enforceable across different types of people.

Basic Choices: Conflicting Goals Choice #1: Rights of the individual vs. the common good (rights of society as a whole) Models of the Criminal Justice System

-Due Process Model -Crime Control Model

Conflict Paradigm: Elitist Conflict

-Elitist Conflict generally exposes some type of economic/racial/gender inequality as a driving force for law creation. -Exposes an equality as some reason why a law was created. -Origin of the law - you see there is some sort of inequality in leading to the creation of this law -Key thing to look at: whether the power of groups changes over time. -Example: Drug law history - economic inequality as a driving force.

Choice 2: Equality vs. Discretion Should a man who robs a store to pay for needed medicine be punished the same as a man who robs a store to pay for recreational drugs?

-Equality: The same consequences for all people who commit the same crime. -Principle of proportionality: The punishment should be consistently related to the magnitude of the offense. -Discretion: The use of judgments about the circumstances of certain offenses that lead to appropriate variations in how the system responds to these offenses. Consider the circumstances of the crime, invite in bias. -Sentencing Disparity: The tendency for judges to administer a variety of penalties for the same crime. Sentencing decisions changing depending on race of offender, African Americans get the death penalty more.

Functions of Law: Formal Social Control

-Explicit rules of conduct - telling us what we can and what we can't do, and what we should and shouldn't engage in. -Planned use of sanctions to support the rules - Can't just have the rules without consequences. Punishment of sanction ex.: prison time. -Designated officials to interpret and enforce the rules, and often to make them.

Organizational Law

-Formal Organization -Rules and Norms

Goal and Limitations of Science

-Goal of science is theory -Limitations of science: When scientific myths are perpetuated, misguided laws get passed, problems can go unaddressed, and sometimes the situation worsens.

Three C's of Consensus Paradigm: Compromise

-Groups must give/take to maintain order and the functioning of society. -The law is generally going to reflect the will of all people.

Max Weber (Cont.)

-He wanted to distinguish law from other rules, norms, or customs other people follow. -Just because it's something we normally or traditionally do, doesn't necessarily mean that it is a law (ex. Trick or Treat). -He tried to capture what makes our customs and habits and norms different from our laws. -Customs can be synonymous with our laws, our laws certainly captures some of our dearest customs, but those traditions are generally separate from something that is enforceable by the law (ex.marriage)

Similarities between Rigidity of the Formal Structure and Conservative Tendencies

-Idea behind conservative tendencies: Our values are often slow to catch up with the law, because when we create law, it's of a particular social time or place. This does this in favor or predictability. -Rigidity in the formal structure: We tend to not be flexible in revising the law because we want predictability and continuity.

Ways of Knowing: Logic

-If A=B, and B=C, then A=C -Faulty cause and effect -False either-or Premise (either you're gonna let me have that popsicle or bad mom) two choices; neither one of them are actually a choice -False Premise: The very premise that you start with could be wrong (L&S is the best class at UF, what is your favorite part of it? - By answering, you are basically affirming the original assertion) (Ex. Why did you commit the crime? Premise = committing the crime; or giving options - provide a face-saving reason and a maximization "you're a horrible person" option. Based on the faulty premise that the person did it in the first place) -Comfortable way for us to figure out the path to the truth. -Summer: Violent Crimes and Ice Cream Sales example; related, but caused by something different

What limits might this create in studying the law?

-If we stick with one definition, we are going to create many limitations in setting the law because we might not be able to understand the different circumstances that don't really fit that definition. -We have to examine definition and see if it needs advising or changing. Law is constantly changing and so is society, so it makes sense that our definitions would be doing the same. -Benefits of many definitions - Helps us get a full picture, the most complete picture possible of what the law is but any picture will never be perfect.

International Law

-Law Treaties -More universal mandates, still some conflicts. -Ex. Geneva Convention -International Trade agreements about immigration. -Conflict based on cultures and values.

Donald Black (Cont.)

-Law is essentially governmental social control - the way that the government maintains a society. -Important part of this definition is that Black focused on just the kind of law that can be measured. He limited the law to what we could actually, tangibly measured. -Saw law as a product of society and previous cases, conflicts, etc.

Functions of Law: Legal Institutions

-Legal institutions are responsible for creating and maintaining the rules and norms that define deviant behavior. -They are responsible for creating and maintaining those norms and rules that define deviant behavior. -The legal institutions become the entity responsible for enforcing this idea that the law is a mechanism for social control. -Social control example: guilt, praise, gossip.

Federal Law

-National Legislature -Ex. Statues

Choice 3: If it's not a test of credibility, then what?

-Not only hear both sides, but evaluate their accuracy/credibility. -More emphasis on weighting facts differently (esp. DNA) -Assumes that we can weigh facts, as well.

Critics of Weber's Definition of Law

-Officials must exist to apply this force - has to be a staff of people holding themselves ready for the purpose of applying that force. Someone who is socially sanctioned by society that is going to apply the force and enforce the law. -Problem: It does not capture all societies when it talks about this staff of people. We tend to see that people who enforce the law tend to have several roles in society, not just one. Ex. Political Leader. -There has to be a socially sanctioned third party, person, or group that will apply the force to ensure people are complying with the law.

The Problem With A Definition Of Law

-Once a definition is reached, events are shaped to fit the definition. -Then, we tend to shape future events and future interpretations to fit that definition, rather than looking at the events or the perspectives for what they are. -By using this one definition, we may be closing ourselves off to other possibilities that would disrupt that definition.

Dysfunctions of Law: Rigidity in the Formal Structure

-Once a law is in place, continuous revision and disruption is avoided in the interests of predictability and continuity. -Because of this idea that we want law that is predictable or continuity, so we don't want to constantly be changing the law because we want predictability so it becomes rigid in that formal structure. -Rigid/difficult to change.

Max Weber - Why laws were made

-Pressures to comply must be external: There has to be something external to enforce that law in order for it to be called or considered a law. -Pressures must involve coercion or force: If you violate the norm or law, there has to be a reaction that involves coercion that makes you comply. -Officials must exist to apply this force: Has to be a staff ready to apply force, socially sanctioned by society to make sure you actually follow the law. (ex. speeding - you will get a ticket - pressure and force) -Coercion is to bring out conformity or avenge violation. -Trick or treating is not externally guaranteed by anything, in fact, many families choose not to. No coercion or force to do it, no officials to make sure everyone engages.

Dysfunctions of Law: Donald Black (Cont.)

-Rules in this principle, may apply to everyone - every citizen is equal before the law. -However, legal authority falls unevenly across social place - law applies to everyone. In practice, we enforce the law differently with different groups of people. The law in practice actually applies to certain types of people differently than others. Social status greatly affects the use and application of the law. - Where the person is on the hierarch effects how the law will apply to them. -Legislation can have highly stratified effects (will affect certain groups of people and not others as much, depending on where you fall on the hierarchy)

Cardonzo

-Says the law is a principle rule of conduct, established to justify a prediction with reasonable certainty that will be enforced by the courts if its authority is challenged. - Without enforcement, the law becomes meaningless. -It's a way to behave that's predictable and enforceable (such as speed limits).

Holmes

-Says the law is a prophecy of what the courts will do in fact, and nothing more pretentious. -The law is a rule of how we should behave and that rule makes it predictable how the court will act when the rule is violated. -Predictability of what courts will do.

Functions of Law: Changing Society

-The law functions as a mechanism for social change and changing society. -The law is often the cause of change in society, often the instigator who is changing the law in society. For social change, we have to see: -Institutionalization of a norm for behavior -Internalization of the behavior reflects new value

Basic Choices: Conflicting Goals Choice #1: Rights of the individual vs. the common good (rights of society as a whole)

-The law functions to protect both of these rights (which are confliction) and tension between these two rights is illustrated in legal decisions. E.g., The law protects citizens from crime, but also protects the accused from an unfair trial. -However, these rights are conflicting in that what is best for the individual or seems a logical right for the individual isn't always the best for society. -Through time, the tension between these two rights is illustrated in legal decisions. E.g. Miranda rights (people didn't know that they didn't have to talk to the police)

What do these definitions have in common?

-The paramount function of law is to regulate and constrain the behavior of individuals in their relationships with one another - to organize society. -Formal system embodying specific rules of conduct - law is a formal way of governing conduct (informal system would be shaming, gossip, or guilt) -A guide for action or inaction. -Without interpretation and enforcement, law would remain meaningless - law doesn't mean a whole law if we're not willing to enforce it.

Group Conflict

-The power between the groups can change over time. -Law results from a power differential between conflicting groups (one group that favors one law and one group that favors the opposite); ex. Pro life vs. pro choice. -Group power changes over time - At certain points, one may be powerful, but as law changes, the other group can become more powerful. -Power can be measured in many different ways.

Consensus Paradigm: The idea that groups in society have fundamental differences and that those in power control societal elements, including law.

-Though interests in society often differ, the building of consensus is essential to secure and maintain order. -Even though our goals may be different, we need to come to an agreement of what we think should be the law. -The primary function of a legal system is integrity. -It serves to mitigate potential elements of conflict and to oil the machinery of social intercourse. -So, if the law is something we all agree upon, then it mitigates conflict. -The building of consensus is essential to secure and maintain order. -Legal system provides the backbone for society to keep moving forward; to do that, we have to genuinely agree on what should be law. -Primary function of law: keep society going, keep us in line, and keep us moving.

What are our goals in studying the law?

-To add perspective. -To try to get the fullest picture and fullest understanding of the law by using all of these different definitions. We recognize that it will never be perfect, your definitions will always be a bit gray. -The benefits of many definitions - each definition gives a bigger picture or piece of the puzzle to get the full understanding on how the law interacts with society. But the puzzle will never be perfect picture when a couple pieces are missing. -If you limit yourself to one definition of law, one way of understanding something you are going to miss out on all those other things that make that journey different/unique. You will miss out on all these other elements to get a perfect explanation or understanding of what the journey is like.

Ways of Knowing: Tenacity

-Unquestioned Beliefs -Most primitive method of believing something is true

Ways of Knowing: Science (cont.)

-We look at science objectively; observe things to produce better outcome -If we know why people commit crime, we can better prevent people from committing crime in the first place. -But we're not gonna do that based on our own opinions behind the motives of crimes -Small-effect side: Peanut butter; moderators (people have different experiences) and magnitude of the problem? Some people have allergies! -Systematic Study of the issue; ex. Cats and dogs; can't just assume off of the three people you just asked. Approach? Is based on an either-or. Doesn't get you the fullest picture of the possibilities. -In an ideal perfect world, science is going to be a great way to get at those general trends. -Expert Effect: Basing information off of an expert study

Paradigms in Our Society: Conflict vs. Consensus

-We want both to have protection in society, but we also want to have our individual freedom (don't always go together). We want the ability to consider individual circumstances, and have them be fair among everybody. Why are laws created? Do laws benefit some people more than others?

Donald Black Styles - Remedial Style

-What Black is recognizing here is that sometimes, the law is used to resolve social conflict that doesn't necessarily have a right or wrong answer. -In that sense, the disputes that are governed under the remedial style of law don't have parties that are either wrong or right, but instead have a social conflict where no one is in the right and no one is in the wrong, but we need to resolve this conflict in some way.

Donald Black Styles

-When we talk about these styles of law, more than one of these styles may appear in any given conflict, but at the end of the day, the law is something we can measure. We can measure how often we are using each style.

Elitist Conflict: Steps

1. Maintain and legitimize their power. 2. Law both protects the property of the powerful and represses political threats. -The law keeps the haves in their place protecting them and also represses political threats by criminalizing crimes associated with people of the lower classes more than people of the higher classes. 3. Law is the State's coercive weapon, which maintains the social and economic order. -We use full force of the state to maintain this social inequality in society.

Traditional Legal Definitions

A form, or type, of social control (Davis, 1962)

The Problem With The Definition: Parable of the Map

A story between a son and the father. The son found a map and said "you know, dad, I understand your journey. I found this map you went from here to here". The father got angry and said, "Well, you have no idea what my journey was about, just by looking at the map, just by understanding what the distance was doesn't give you anything about the mountains and troubles crossed." -The picture will never be perfect; we can't limit ourselves to one definition of law. -Need many definitions to get the best picture. -What is said to be wise rules out what could be important. If you only decide to use one definition of law when looking at the law, you're going to miss all of the other important ways that the law affects our lives. -Only by using several definitions or perspectives, can we really get a full picture of how the law interacts with society? -Better conceptualization of what is going on. Ex. Road trip all the pieces ticket, music, conversation, etc, makes full picture.

Discretion

Ability to use your own judgment when making decisions.

Donald Black Styles - Accusatory

Accusatory -Tends to be a conflict: one party as a complaint and the other as a respondent, and the conflict needs resolving.

Donald Black - Accusatory 2 Compensatory

Compensatory (more like our civil law - civil with invisible contracts) -A person is considered to have contractual obligation, and therefore owes the victim restitution. -Relationship with one another, between those two individuals. -We are governed by invisible contracts we have with one another; dictate how we relate to one another, how we talk to one another. Don't drive in their lane when they're driving there. -Analogy: Civil law system. Both compensatory and civil law systems govern those contracts that we have with one another either written or invisible contracts that connect us all.

If its not a test of credibility, then what?

Conflict resolving ritual: -Create a sense that justice is done and fair. -The trial becomes less about discovering truth and more about resolving conflicts in a nonviolent way.

Three C's of Consensus Paradigm: Consensus of Values

Consensus of Values -Law is a reflection of what we all agree upon. -Law represents the generally agreed upon norms of society.

Conflict vs. Consensus ( no law is just conflict or just consensus; ie nature vs nurture )

Consensus sees law as driven by survival and the necessity that people essentially get along, everyone agrees that X should be the law. Conflict sees it driven by power and competition, one group to maintain power over the other.

Three C's of Consensus Paradigm: Cooperation

Cooperation -We have to cooperate with one another to come to a decision or consensus. -Cooperation is key for a society to function.

Donald Black (Cont.)

More law happens with unfamiliar people (Ex. hitting a stranger's car) -Only talking about that for that type of law can be measured through legislation, litigation, and adjudication. -So, different societies can have different amounts of laws. Ex. More legislation takes places in society, more law society is said to have. -Several styles of law can exist in any society - so there are different ways of how the law is going to be implemented into society, and so these different styles delineate what type of law is going on in each society. -In the case of law, people look at how law changes society and human behavior. How does law change human behavior? Cause and effect - does change in law affect human behavior? (Weed example) -AA are more likely to be pulled over than people that were not; law was being enforced unequally between race and ethnicity.

Donald Black - Accusatory 1 Penal

Penal (Criminal Law - Criminal with Punishment) -The deviant is a violator of a prohibition and an offender to be subjected to condemnation and punishment; enforcing a code on how society should act on behalf of the victim. -Analogy: Criminal Law that we have in the US, so that the deviant is the violator of a prohibition (has done something that the law says they shouldn't do, therefore needs to be punishment).

Due Process Model

Places the primary value on the protection of citizens from possible abuses by the police and law enforcement system generally. (Values on individual rights) -Assumes the innocence of suspects -Burden of proof rests on prosecution (must prove person broke the law) -Rests on prosecution, not defense -End goal: To keep everybody safe from both crime and an unfair justice system.

Elitist Conflict

The power between the groups never changes - Always have one group that is more powerful than the other. -Law is the tool by which the ruling class exercises it's control - can be used to maintain those inequalities. -They have haves and have nots. The haves have power and use their power to keep the have nots in check. In that sense, the law becomes a hegemonic strategy. -Law becomes a hegemonic strategy. They use it to both protect their property and repress political threats.

Choice 3: if it's not rational, then what?

Trial as a test of credibility: -Not only hear both sides, but evaluate their accuracy/credibility. -More emphasis on weighting facts differently (esp. DNA) -Assumes that we can weigh facts, as well.