Introduction to Law in American Society

Introduction to Law in American SocietyPS 380 Dr. Troy Gibson

Chapter 1Law, Courts, and Politics I. Courts and Government Courts = 3rd branch, but distinctive (law degree, formal procedures, it’s own language). A. Course: We will examine the judicial system’s relationship with each of the following: • Constitution • Federalism • President’s role • Legislatures • Elections • Political Parties • Interest Groups

8. Public Opinion • Legal Institutions • Many components other than courtrooms (lawyers, judges, plaintiffs, defendants, witnesses, jurors, investigators, etc.) • Legal System (Fig 1-2, 11). • Inner Ring: Institutions of Law (3 branches of government; tell us what the law is and how fast it should change). • Middle Ring: Interpreters of Law – composed of actors who serve as gatekeepers (lawyers, judges, judicial elections, law schools) between the inner and outer rings. These actors control the entry and exit of litigation (law suits).

Outer ring – consumers of the law. All of those who seek legal solutions to their perceived problems. That is, anyone who desires something from a legal process. • These rings operate within the context of the larger political, economic, and cultural environment. C. Courts as Political Institutions – courts do not exist in a vacuum, no matter how much we think courts are or should be immune from “politics.” Since courts determine what the law is (via interpretation), they are inherently political institutions. But differences: • Passive, not active – must wait on cases before they get to decide things • Less able to avoid decision-making (e.g., politically charged issues). • Politics is less directly influential over courts.

Information is limited and narrow, not broad and open. Comes mostly through two disputing parties. Not an open forum. • Courts and Controversy “There is almost no political question in the U.S. that is not resolved sooner or later into a ___________ question.” - Tocqueville • Courts have emerged as principle players in public policy debates. • Three headings of legal-policy debates: • _______________ (e.g., segregation) • Criminal justice issues (e.g., death penalty) • Civil justice issues (e.g., tort reform) C. Liberal and ___________ positions (T 1-1, 20)

Chapter 2 Law and Legal Systems • What is Law? Body of rules enacted by public officials in a legitimate manner and backed by force of state. Law and Justice – justice is associated with normative values; not winning, not ___________ (prohibition). • Legal Systems (Table 2-1) • Civil Law (Roman) – oldest law family. • Starts with the code – expresses rules of law as general principles phrased in _________ language. • Judges and lawyers emphasize the _______ and not concrete cases (deductive reasoning from the code to the decision). No precedent use. Small working library!

Judges and not lawyers dominate hearings (witnesses and questions) • Judges are ___________, not practicing lawyers • No juries. Mixed tribunals (judges and citizens) are used for __________ crimes. • Most widely used system in Europe. • Socialist law – birthed in revolution; focus on changing society, not maintaining order. Russia/_________. • Rejects common law and civil law assertions that law is basis of society. • Goal – protection of the _______ (not private property) • Law is to be educational targeting the new socialist society (crime=failure of state, not individuals).

Islamic Law – only law family directly tied to religious beliefs. • Exhaustive – all aspects of life • Source – God (______), through the Koran and the Sunna dictated and written by Muhammad. • Judges receive legal & religious training. • Lawyers are not independent of legal system/gov’t. • Juries not allowed • Courts do NOT make policy. • Common Law – rooted in __________ England; meaning common to all. • History – over time, became __________ and inflexible. Was totally reactive and never proactive. 1. Soon, concerns over equity (adapting

common law to changing conditions and new legal practices). For example, the practice of _________ was underdeveloped (proactive). • Common law was slow to develop (unlike civil law). 3. Americans adopted this system. C. Characteristics • Judge-Made law. Judges were the primary instruments of law-making until late 19th century (wills, property, contracts, etc.) • Precedent – ____________ is the practice of letting previous decisions stand. “Broad rules and policy directives emerge only over time through the ______________ of court decisions.”

Uncodified Rules and _____________ – no place to find the official statement of the WHOLE law. Law emerges through court decisions. • Adversary system – we also have an ___________ system (not _____________), where judges are passive/neutral and lawyers run the show (prosecute cases/question/call witnesses). Discussion: Which is better, inquisitorial or adversarial? (page 39). • Eight Layers of U.S. Law • _____________: power divided between national and state. Federal/state/local order of hierarchy. • Multiple Sources of Law – • Constitutions • _____________

Administrative Regulations (Administrative law) • Judicial Decisions – courts don’t make law, but they _______ it in previous decisions. • Public and Private law • Public law involves ___________ (e.g., International law). • Private law involves relationships between private citizens • Tort law • __________ (including divorce) • Property • Civil and __________ law • Civil suit involves dispute between private parties.

Criminal suits involves a __________ of a government penal laws. • Sometimes a single action results in both (OJ-homicide and wrongful death). • Substantive and ____________ Law • Substantive – law that defines rights (what). • Procedural – establishes methods of enforcing legal rights (how). Rules of court and constitutional due process. • Remedies • Declaratory judgment (defining rights of parties) • _____________ – recovering of damages (compensatory or punitive) H. Doctrines of __________

Jurisdiction – right of a court to hear a case • Real dispute (not contrived) • Standing – plaintiff must demonstrate real injury/harm in order to ________. • Interpreting the Law • Ideally, judicial process is to consider what the law ______ and not what policy ________ be. Average citizen thinks in terms of the latter (abortion). • Why interpretation? • Meaning of words (establishment, interstate commerce) • Conflicting laws – (different courts, federalism, states, statements in constitution). Often, courts use “______” to balance these conflicts (Lemon test). • Gaps in law – law and ___________ imbalance

Chapter 3 Federal Courts I. Principles of Court Organization • Jurisdiction • Geographical Jurisdiction (e.g., extradition) • Subject Matter Jurisdiction – some courts can hear a limited ___________ of cases • Hierarchical Jurisdiction (original and appellate) • Dual Court system – Federal and State (51 court systems; Fig. 3.1) • Trial and Appellate Courts • Trial Courts: trial centers on ____________ facts (evidence, witnesses, juries) • Appellate Courts: centers on correctly interpreting the law (none of the above)

History of the Federal Courts • 2 landmarks shaped the current court • Article III (Constitution) • Disagreement between ___________ (distrusted state court ability to produce uniform body of law; wanted a series of lower federal courts) and _______________ (feared too powerful national government; wanted federal law to first be interpreted by state courts). • Article III, however, basically passed the buck to _____________ (p. 64). • Judiciary Act of 1789 • Plan: SC (5 justices, 1 chief), circuit courts in every district (composed of 2 SC justices who “______” circuit), and 1 district court judge (Fig. 3-2). • Major victory of _____________ (lower courts).

But did support state interests as well: • dc boundaries shaped by ________ (no district encompassed more than one state) • Selection of dc judges tied to respective states • Gave _________ district courts __________ jurisdiction. • 1789-1891 – growing consensus that the system was inadequate • Circuit riding (Fig 3-2): one justice had to travel _________ miles in one year. One murdered by unhappy party on the road. • Caseloads – sometimes took 3 years before cases were heard (1800 cases at SC in 1890) • Court of Appeals Act 1891 • Reformers differ: states rights people wanted to return ________ to states (reduce fed. Jurisdiction). Nationalists wanted to create/expand/reform circuit courts.

Another victory for ___________. Created 9 new “Courts of Appeal” which handles almost all appeals of dc’s. • Basically has remained the same ever since. • U.S. District Courts A. Characteristics 1. Geography – at least _____ in each state; never crosses state lines (Fig 5-3). Map of Circuit and District Courts 2. 649 dc judgeships; 94 dcs; ranges from 2-28 (pop based). 3. Full staffs 4. Each has ______ U.S. Atty (nominated by Pres. And confirmed by Senate).

3-Judge District Courts – Congress became frustrated with laissez-faire dc justices in early 1900s. Legislated that certain cases must be heard by ____ dc justices instead of one. • Panel is composed of original dc judge, a circuit court judge, and another dc judge (latter 2 chosen by ________________). • The use of these, however, has decreased after mid-century (320 in 1973 to 9 in 1990). • Other federal courts • Magistrates (early stages of criminal cases; Soc Sec claims, etc.) • Bankruptcy Judges • Caseload of dc’s • 2002, 341,841 cases filed. • What cases? • Federal _________ (usually a congressional

statute). Money cases must exceed $10,000. • Diversity Jurisdiction – citizens of different states suing. Why? ______. ¼ dc docket. 1988-congress upped the “amount in controversy” from $10,000 to $__________. • Prisoner ___________ – prisoner complaining they are improperly convicted or suffer from poor imprisonment conditions. • U.S. Court of Appeals • 11 circuits; another DC Circuit; another Federal Circuit (also in DC). • 179 judges, 6-28 range; each has a chief (senior). Use 3 judge rotating panels, but by majority vote can sit ___________ (all; 100 a year). • Caseload – 93% from dc’s, rest from administrative agencies. 57,555 cases 2002. Not matched with ____________ in judges.

U.S. Supreme Court • Composition: ____ + Chief (nominated for that post by president). • Writ of __________ – decision by SC to review (call up) lower court holdings to determine if law has been correctly applied. • Caseload – Writ is granted according to “rule of _____” (very few % make it). Must involve a _____________ federal question. Federal Court filings have exploded (Fig. 3-4)

Chapter 4 State Courts • Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (Lower Courts) • Size: 13,684 courts (85% of all courts). Varies from none to 2,500 (TX). Hear 60million matters a year (mostly traffic) • Not part of state court system. Usually created and controlled by local gov’ts. • Not a court of __________ (no official transcript) • Appeals go to trial court of general jurisdiction and is heard ___________ (heard entirely again). • Criminal/Civil Cases 1. Criminal cases usually concern ordinance violations and ________________ (peace disturbance, shoplifting). Fines < $1000.

Often handle preliminary stages of felony cases (arraignments, bail). • Civil Cases: handle small claims cases with $1500-$__________ money limits. These hearings usually go quickly by dispensing with written pleas, strict rules of ____________, and jury trial rights. • Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction (Major Trial courts). MS name? (p. 104) • Size: ________; hear cases not specifically delegated to lower courts • Geographic jurisdictions usually follow ________ lines and are subdivided into circuits/districts. • Criminal/Civil 1. Criminal: hear mostly street crimes (not white collar). Most do not go to trial because of _____ __________ (not guilt, but what penalty)

Civil cases: outnumber criminal 2 to 1. Usually concern domestic relations (alimony, child support, divorce); __________ cases (supervise will disbursements); Personal injury (vehicle accidents to wrongful death). • Intermediate Courts of Appeal A. Created to relieve courts of __________________ • ______ states have them (MS?) • Their decisions are usually final. • Courts of Last Resort: State Supreme Courts • TX/OK have two (criminal and civil) • Original rarely used (disciplining lawyers/judges); primarily ________________ (gets to pick the appeals that it hears). • An appeal goes to U.S. Sup. Ct., but rarely ___________.

The Lower Courts: A Closer Look Heavily influenced by local customs. Therefore, wide-ranging. Types: • Justice of the _________ Courts • Originated 14th century rural England to quickly dispense simple justice. • 15,000-20,000 in U.S; most with elected officials. • Concerns: fairness (out of town speeders) • Solutions? • Professionalize – training programs or law degree requirements. *1/3-1/2 CA JP’s with no high school diploma; Assistant Atty General of MS said MS JP’s “are not capable of learning the necessary elements of law” • Abolish JP’s? Response: ________________: Powerful lobbies who protect their jobs. Argue that all that is required in their cases is __________________ (not a law degree). *”These are the last bastions of the people w/o much money. It’s a place they can go toresolve their problems without the necessity of having a lawyer”

Municipal Courts – urban answer to JPs. Product of big-city political ____________ (patronage system). • Juvenile Courts – product of the “progressive movement” (save children from a life of crime). • Philosophy – system becomes a __________. • 1999 – 2.5m juveniles arrested. • Usually means below _____. • Three categories of juvenile matters: • Delinquency – would be a crime if committed by _________ (64%) • Status offenses – illegal only for juv’s (14%) • Child victim – neglect or dependency

Court ___________ – shifting judicial administration from local to centralized (state capitol) control. A. 5 reform proposals: • Simplified Structure (____________, reduce number of local/minor/specialized courts). Whole system becomes 3-tier • Centralized Administration – whole system is governed by state supreme court. Accountability via hierarchy. • Centralized rule-making – uniform rules set not by legislatures/local bodies but ________ and lawyers. • Centralized Budgeting – have a state judicial administrator who independently prepares budget for entire system (bypass _______________).

Statewide financing – fund the system through state _____________, not local. • Success of Reforms? • While many states have moved that direction (e.g., 4-tier), few have implemented even most of these. • Why? • Reformers are mainly legal elites. Perhaps bias against issues not as important to them (e.g., consumer, domestic issues) • Resisted by lawyers, judges, and court personnel who are _______________ with status quo. • Big city problem, not rural. • New way of thinking: ____________ may be more efficient (top-down), but _____________ and diversity leads to better quality (bottom-up).

Drug Courts – new thing response to drug war in 80s. Focus on ______________ mainly. Quick and easy process. • DCs usually aim a reducing rearrests. Attys play less of a role. • Mixed results as to ________________. • Consequences: • Costs have soared for these • Might be increasing # of prisoners. Police and prosecutors more likely to go after small drug crimes ($10-$20) since the DC is available.

Chapter 14 Supreme Court: Deciding What to Decide • Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court • Original Jurisdiction • Article III, cases affecting ambassadors, public ministers, consuls, or cases between ___________ (e.g., water rights). • Rare • SC no longer hears the cases in _________ format. A “special master” is appointed for this and reports back. • Appellate Jurisdiction Goal of SC is no longer primarily to correct lower court errors. Instead, they are permitted to hear cases dealing with important issues of _________________. 3 methods: • Appeal – review lower court decisions declaring state/federal laws unconstitutional. The only appeal they MUST hear comes from the 3-judge dc panels. • ______________ – SC may or may not choose to review

a lower court decision. • Certification – appellate courts may ask the SC to “make certain” or clarify a point of Federal law. • Doctrines of Access • _________________ – a case is justiciable if it is proper to be decided by the court. Court will not issue ____________ opinions on legislative/executive acts (need a case) • Standing - right to sue • Components: • Actual dispute (not hypothetical) • Adversity – no ____________ lawsuits; parties must have adverse stakes in the outcome. • Direct legal injury for plaintiff – no 3rd party suits. • Taxpayer lawsuits – generally, _______________ claim for standing (too minute and uncertain). • Class action – all members must have real harm, not simply concern over “public interest”

Ripeness/Mootness – these concerning timing. • Ripeness: case is brought too _________ (no harm has been done or alternatives not fully exhausted). • Mootness: case brought too late (remedy no longer available; Roe). • Political Questions – most ambiguous. Means no cases that are properly decided by other ____________. Today, this means basically only foreign affairs. • Getting the Case to SC • Lawyers – two classes: • Repeat players (SC Bar) – held on retainer specifically for SC cases (usually ____________ cases). • Novices – new to SC (usually noncommercial cases like civil liberties/criminal).

Interest Groups – participate directly by sponsoring litigants or indirectly via ________________ (amici) briefs. • 18% of SC justice opinions cite amici. • Liberal IG’s more successful than conservatives (libs=older/repeaters). • __________________ – atty for the government/executive. • Office on first floor of SC. • Decides what executive agency appeals will be filed • Advises SC justices on cases where U.S. is not a party. • Files U.S. amici • Most successful _____________ player

Case Selection • Little chance: 8,000 filed, 100 granted review. • Cert petitions are mostly managed by ______________ who make recommendations on which cases to accept. • ________________: at a weekly conference, by custom, the judges discuss the cases and vote on cert. • If 4 agree, it is accepted. • Interpretation of denial: Means ONLY that the court leaves lower court decision ________________ (don’t read into it) • Screening Criteria: Must involve “substantial federal question” but that has not been defined. 5 Criteria for getting in: • Federal Government as ________________: 50-75% of Solicitor requests are granted (compare to 5% for all else). Why? Repeat player and/or institutional deference. • Conflict over law: Appellate court ______________ district court; appellate judge writes a dissent; circuit conflict.

Justice Ideology: Two discoveries • Grant cert when a lower court decision conflicts with their ______________ (liberals more likely to hear criminal defendants) • Strategic action or “defensive denial”: justices make ideologically based cert decisions based on expected action of colleagues. • Means bias in favor of reversals (if you like it, leave the lower decision alone). • Amicus Curia Activity: More likely to hear cases with ________ amici briefs. Demonstrates _________________. • Issue Areas: Civil liberties issues mainly (not much majority appeal). Not as detectable lately. • Court’s Docket: Begins term on _______ Monday in October until early summer. • Number of cases: • Original jurisdiction, only _______ a year. • Pauper cases: 75% of total. Petitioner can’t afford the $_____ filing fee and required 40 copies of brief. Mostly from criminal defendants.

Court may take 1 of ___ actions (#’s from 2002): • Denial (7500) • _____________ decision (124): no orals, usually an unsigned memo stating the court’s decision and applicable law. • Grant review (87): oral arguments • Caseload growth: from _______ the first two years to 8000 now (Fig. 14-2, p. 489). Most of the increase from criminal cases. • Kinds of cases: half are ______________; half are statutory (other laws) cases.

Chapter 15 Justices and Their Decisions Secret in deliberation (behind closed doors, few interviews with press), open in decision-making (detailed published opinions) • Judicial Selection • The most important appointment of President. An _____________ mark. • Irregular; depends on ____________ (death, resignation, impeachment). Table 15-1, p. 502 current membership • Nomination Process: President nominates, Senate confirms, justice serves during good behavior (none have been removed). Have become _______________ and dramatic. Criteria: • Merit – for _________ court, merit takes back seat to political rewards and senatorial courtesy. At SC, merit is first concern (professional eminence and without ethical blemish). Most served as high judges. Rehnquist had never been a judge.

Personal/Political Friendship: 50% have been personal friends. ____% from President’s party. Recently, however, personal ___________ has been less a factor • Policy Preferences – President’s try to select ideological ______________ (Reagan and Scalia; Clinton and Breyer). Commonly disappointed (Eisenhower and Warren; Kennedy and White). • Symbolic Representation (ranked) • Race/Ethnicity • ____________ • Geography • ____________

Senate Confirmation – president’s must act strategically to get nominees through. • Nominees are sent to Senate Judiciary Committee for questioning. • Committee recommends to _________. • Most nominations are successful. • Last ___ rejections due to ethical/ideological concerns (Bork and Ginsburg). Discuss Harriet Myers. • Decision-Making Process • Briefing – lawyers and amici (center more on SC precedent and less on facts • Oral Arguments • Each side gets ____ minutes (interrupted often) • Often strategic (use lawyers as __________ of communication between justices). Example: prayer at football games • Conference – 2-3 days later, justices assemble in conference. Chief reviews case and gives his opinion first. Others present views by ___________. • Opinion Assignment – Chief assigns if in majority;

If not, most senior member assigns. Four factors in opinion assignment: • Workload – equal # of ___________________ • Ideology – must satisfy views of ________ usually (perhaps justice closest to dissenters). • Specialization – legal areas of expertise (In Roe, Burger selected Blackmun, a medical law expert). • Self-Assignment – Tradition of Chief assigning himself big cases. • Opinion Writing • Burden of ______________ usually. Submit drafts to justice, who revises and edits. • Very dynamic process of letter/opinion sending between justices. Change mind sometimes (less than ____% of time) • Announcement of Opinion – • Decision and rationale • Types:

Majority: 5 or more agree with decision and rationale • __________: no single opinion is joined by 5 or more; the most • Concurring: agree with decision, but not ____________ of majority • Dissent: disagree with both • Justice’s Policy Preferences • Bloc Analysis – ________ of justices voting together (ideological blocs). Table 15-3. Who are the least predictable?

Scaling – method of analyzing ideological divisions on the court. • Stronger the support, ________ on the scale. • Cutoff point – point at which the support is so low that the judge votes in opposite direction. • Procedure – arrange cases according to voting divisions (1-8 to 8-1). Strong voting patterns and underlying ideological attitudes are statistically discerned. (e.g., study in 70s found that ____% of Court’s decisions were explained by 3 values – freedom, equality, and New Dealism). • Content Analysis – direct means of measuring ideology on the court (look directly at the __________ of their speeches, opinions, votes, writings before coming to court).

Supreme Courts • Warren (1953-1969) – most _________. Support for minority rights, criminal rights, free speech/expression, separation of C & S. • Burger (1969-1986) – moderate (support for civil liberties dropped 80%) and especially different in criminal cases. A bit more _________________ in religion cases. Dealt with new issues on gender (Roe). Never reversed Warren decisions, but moderated them (e.g. Affirmative-Action and quotas) • Rehnquist (1986-present) – More conservative (product of moderate to conservative replacements – Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas). Promotes ___________ rights, even more accommodationist on religion, far less supportive of criminal rights and affirmative-action. Currently, a conservative weak alliance (but probably changing); success of which was determined mostly by _____________. • Impact and Implementation

Reactions and Responses – implementation of decisions is not always _____________ (compare Roe to Brown). • Political Institutions – In statutory cases, Congress may respond by ____________ its laws or simply passing new laws to reverse the decision. Far more difficult for _______________ cases. Here, they may use amendments, deny raises (1964), refuse to appropriate necessary _________. • Interpreters of law – lawyers and judges take decisions and implement them in subsequent legal actions. Some may defy, avoid, or limit (apply narrowly) the decision. • Consumers of law – affect groups, agencies, etc. vary in their implementation of decisions (school prayer). Groups respond to decisions by forming, ______________, suing, etc.

Political, Social, Economic forces – public opinion clearly affects the degree of implementation. The court is considered the most “_____________” institution in U.S. Govt. Makes unpopular decisions more tolerable. But opinion still has an impact, how? • Voters choose Presidents who appoint • Court responds direction to public mood.

Chapter 5 Lawyers “What’s the difference between a lawyer and a catfish?” Answer: One is a bottom-dwelling creature that feeds off the waste of others. The other is a __________. Again, lawyers are important in our legal system: they are gatekeepers (gotta go through a lawyer). • Legal Education • Legal Training Before 1870 • Self-Study – especially ________________ • Apprenticeship – boy would pay to work with a lawyer for training. • Law schools were rarely used (only 15 in 1850; 1000 students). Nature of law school then was much broader (philosophy, economics, ethics). A few ______________ (for profit) law schools created, which focused solely on the practice of law. • Modern Law school originated with the dean of Harvard Law School (Christopher Langdell) in 1870. Introduced:

Case method – lectures replaced by reading appellate court opinions • This method encouraged the creation of _________ law schools because leading law schools began raising admission and graduation standards. Night schools welcomed anyone. In response (1900), the American Assoc. of Law Schools was organized and left out night schools. • Law schools today • Students 127,610 in ABA approved schools 2001 (_____% women). 1963, 46,666 (____% women). • Admission based on Law School Admission Test and GPA (mostly). • In the past, some law schools explicitly discriminated against women and blacks. There were only 3 black lawyers in MS 1960s. Today, _____% of law students are minorities; 20% of degrees awarded go to minorities; 7% of degrees go to AA’s. Women are ____% and blacks 5% of practicing lawyers.

Curriculum today • Usually 3 years (compared to 1-2) • Purpose1: Trained to be _____________________ • Purpose2: Think like lawyers (teach them what the law requires, not what they think is right/just. • First year is general and hard with little discretion over course (civil procedure, const. law, contracts, criminal law, property, torts, legal research). Subsequent years, electives (specialization) • Instruction uses ____________ method – professor teach by asking students questions and challenging them to defend answers (heavy demand on students). • Criticisms: too hard for students (p. 145) and too focused on passing ______ and not practical enough. • Differences between law schools • 200 law schools, most accredited by ABA. If not, grad can only take bar in that state. • Vary in prestige quality of ____________, library holdings, required courses, faculty-student ratios.

Prestige: 3 levels. 20 at the top (Ivy league, Duke, Stanford, UVA, Michigan, Texas, UCLA). Most in the middle (UGA, Ole Miss, Bama). Then, local law schools (not affiliated with larger university, sometimes not accredited; focus on state law; predecessor of 19th century night schools). • Licensure: • ABA’s typically push for raising admission/grad standards (increases quality of lawyers, but also decreases ________________). • Bar exams cover basic areas (first exam) and state law (2nd) and ethics (3rd). ____% pass it first-time. • Most states require passage before practice. Some will accept bar passage somewhere else (usually of specific states). Passage anywhere gets you in Federal court. • Bar basically disallows legal practice by ______________. Keeps the business going for lawyers, but mixed results on if it really improves quality of legal representation. • Work of Lawyers (five duties)

Litigating (most do not) – presenting cases before judges/juries. Must mater rules of evidence, but also have insight into the psychological/sociological dynamics of juries, clients, witnesses, and other lawyers (do you support tort reform?). • Representing – lawyers are often used to represent ___________________ or individuals in settings where their interests are at stake (e.g. regulatory agencies, law-making bodies, public hearings). • Negotiating – most cases are settled out of court. Settlement amount depends greatly on _______________ ability of lawyer. • Drafting documents – ability to remove ambiguity/doubt by writing legal documents (mortgages, divorce papers, especially wills and estates). • Counseling Clients – tend to _____________ needs (like doctors). Can lead to tension/conflict between advice of lawyer and desire of client. If client is not knowledgeable of law, more deferential to atty. • Where they work (Table 5-1, p. 157).

Access to legal services • Criminal defense for poor (right, not privilege; Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963) • Assigned Counsel – lawyer is assigned to case pro bono (for public good; no charge). Typically, they agree to this in order to practice in designated area. 52% of counties use this system. • _______________ (20th cent. response) – salaried lawyers paid by local/state gov’t to represent all poor criminals in jurisdiction. Used in all big cities and most medium-size jurisdictions too. • Controversy of public defender • Advantages – a criminal lawyer (not a lawyer concentrating on civil law) working solely on that case, keeps up with changing law, more ______________, trial-skills sharp. • Criticism – paid employees of gov’t, work buddies with prosecutors and judges (trials may be staged fights). • Civil representation for poor • Contingency fees – most PIs

Introduction to Law in American Society