Lawmaking

1. Lawmaking

2. Paper Clip Game • I’m going to hand each row a stack of paper clips • Each person can take one paper clip • When the last person in the row has one clip… • GO!

3. Making Laws • Who makes laws? • Legislatures • Congress passes federal statutes • affects people in every state • deal with issues of national • Congress only has the power given to it by the Constitution • Supremacy clause • The Constitution is the highest law of the land • When Federal and State/Local laws conflict, the Federal law is effective

4. Making Laws • State legislatures, cities, towns, and counties all have lawmaking bodies • What “legislatures” do we exist under? • Courts • made by the courts through the process of judicial review • sets precedence for future cases and laws

5. Making Laws • Street-level Bureaucrats • Police officers, etc. • Public • The U.S. is a republic, not a democracy • Initiative • voters propose laws • Referendum • voters approve or reject a legislative act directly • Recall • voters removed elected official from office • What are some problems with these?

6. Discussion • Are laws necessary? Why?

7. Island Game Simulation • Background: One person living on an island needs no laws at all. When a second person joins the first, however, agreements are needs to regulate their behavior. And, as additional people join them, even more regulations will be necessary. • As our country grows more and more populous, more rules are needed to regulate relationships and behavior between individuals. • Some laws keep us from injuring other people or their property, while others help settle disputes.

8. Island Game Simulation • Scenario: • You and your classmates are on an island. The island is three miles long and one mile wide. The highest elevation on the island is 300 feet. A cave is found in a hill and it contains 500 lbs. of wheat. There is a freshwater spring on the island. The island is somewhere in a warm-water ocean. Thirty percent of the island is covered with vegetation. • The island is not on any air or sea navigation chart. Neither planes nor ships will pass within sight of the island. You will NOT be rescued. Your means of getting to the island have been lost. You lost contact with others long before reaching the island and have no means of regaining it. • Your physical condition on the island is exactly as it is at this moment.

9. Instructions • Choose five representatives (I will conduct the election). These representatives will determine the 10 basic laws they feel are essential to peaceful living on the island

10. Instructions to class • Now, you will determine the 10 basic laws they feel are essential to peaceful living on the island. Then, we’ll see how they compare with your representatives.

11. Response • How well did the representatives “represent” the class? • Would the “10 Essential Laws” be the same if they had been determined by people of a different culture? Why or why not? • What essential system(s) would be needed to achieve the goal of peaceful living (i.e., how would laws be enforced? How would disputes be settled? Who would interpret laws in order to settle conflicts?) • Why did you choose the leaders you did? Would these reasons be valid ones for electing representatives to a real lawmaking body? Why or why not? • What are examples of good leadership qualities?

12. Movie Time! • Now, as we begin to explore Criminal Law, we’ll watch Anatomy of a Murder over the next couple of days