David O. Friedrichs, Professor

Dept. of Sociology/Criminal Justice

University of Scranton

O’Hara 421 - x7467

email: friedrichsd1@scranton.edu

LAW & SOCIETY (S/CJ 210): SYLLABUS FALL, 2005

Course Description: An examination of the relationship between law and society, or the interaction of legal and social variables. The course will focus on identifying the role of law in contemporary society, and problems of defining and studying law; functions and forms of law, the critique of law, and the different legal systems; law in relation to justice and morality; the nature of legal reasoning and discretion; and jurisprudential and sociological theories of law. Anthropological, historical, comparative, and contextual perspectives on law will be considered. The nature of the legal profession, and selective aspects of legal behavior, will also be examined. The course will conclude with some attention to law and social change.

In the first half of the course a considerable amount of legal case material will be analyzed for purposes of developing rudimentary case briefing skills and the ability to understand law cases in a particular social context. This legal case material will focus on illustrating key points about law and society in relation to the doctrine of stare decisis, and law and values, conflicting interests, status, wealth, and power, gender and race, and popular will. Throughout the course students will be expected to participate in team discussions of key sociolegal issues, identified on the course calendar.

Course requirements and Grades: Three one-period exams (typically: 50% short-answer, 50% essay; one exam: possible 100% short-answer option), with each exam counting equally in the calculation of your grade. Students will be expected to participate in team discussions of selected discussion questions listed on the course calendar, and this form of participation will be taken into account in calculating the final grade in the course. Class participation is also taken into account in calculating the final grade for the course, and may significantly raise that grade (up to 3 points).

[Grading: A = 91+; A- = 89-90; B+ = 85-88; B = 81-84;

B- = 79-80; C+ = 75-78; C= 71-74; C- = 69-70; D+ = 65-68;

D = 60-64; F = -59. If circumstances indicate the need to

do so, grades will be adjusted on a curve relative to the

overall class performance.]

Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend all scheduled meetings of the course. Every student is responsible for all material presented and announcements made during class. At the discretion of the instructor, 1 point may be deducted from the overall course grade for each unexcused class absence. Do not call the instructor or department office prior to a missed class - unless an exam is involved, or you are scheduled to make a presentation - but it is your responsibility to provide appropriate documentation before or after any such absence.

Classroom Conduct Rules:

1. Punctuality, and Early Departure: It is expected that all students will be in their seats and prepared for the start of the class before the formal beginning of the class. Late arrival may subject you to some penalty, unless you have under special circumstances received permission to arrive late. By the same token, it is expected that students will remain in class till the end of the class period, again unless they have had permission under special circumstances to depart early. Instructors, for their part, are committed to starting classes and ending classes on schedule (neither early nor late).

2. Staying Put During the Class Period: It is expected that all students will refrain from stepping out of class during the course of the period, unless they have been given permission ahead of time by the instructor to do so. A failure to adhere to this rule may subject the student to some penalty.

3. Classroom decorum: Students are strictly forbidden to converse with fellow students while the class is in session, as such conversation is distracting to both fellow students and to the instructor. If a student has an urgent need to communicate with a fellow student during the course of the class this should be done by passing a written note to that individual. A failure to adhere to this rule may subject the student to some penalty. In addition: If you are unable to stay awake for the duration of the class, please refrain from attending. The penalty for sleeping in class will be double the penalty for an unexcused absence from class. Needless to say, all cell phones should be turned off before the class begins. Eating and drinking in class is unacceptable, and you should in any case not bring food – especially hot food – to class.

Office Hours: Tu/Th. 3 – 5:00 p.m.

Wed. 10-12 Noon

Or by appointment. Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of office

hours in connection with any questions relating to this course.

Texts: 1. David O. Friedrichs, Law in Our Lives: An Introduction (Los Angeles, CA: Second edition. Roxbury Publishing Co., 2006).

2. John Bonsignore et. al., Editors, Before the Law: An Introduction to the Legal Process, Seventh edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002).

COURSE CALENDAR

[Note: The schedule below is provisional. It may be adjusted or revised, as circumstances dictate. However, it should provide you with a guide for organizing your reading schedule and preparing for exams and in-class team discussions. It is very important to have the reading completed by the date listed below for the particular reading assignment. You should be able to respond to questions in class about the reading, especially the cases]

August

Tu 30 Introduction to the Course; Basic Dimensions of Law

& Society

Recommended: > Friedrichs, Preface, xiv-xvi

Ø Bonsignore et. al., Preface, viii-ix; Kafka, “Before the Law,”

xiii-xiv [Also: Dialogue¼, The Problem¼, Couriers,

xv-xxi]

September

Th 1

Legal Issues in American Society Today; Group Discuss.

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 1, pp. 1-13;

Ø Bonsignore et. al., Tewksbury, “The Ordeal as a Vehicle¼,”

386-388; Dooley, “Our Juries, Ourselves¼, “ 460-463.

Tu 6 Law in America; Conflicting Images of Law

Reading : > Friedrichs, Ch. 1, 13-30;

Ø Bonsignore et. al., Van Voris, “$145 Billion to Send a Message,”

455-457; Corboy, “The Not-So-Quiet Revolution,”

457-459.

Th 8 An Introduction to Case Briefing

Reading: > Friedrichs, Appendix A, 312-315;

Ø Bonsignore et. al., Cover, "The Violence of Legal Acts," 209-212; Darrow, "Address to the Prisoners...," 212-218; d’Errico, “The Law is Terror Put into Words,” 233-237.

Team Discussion: Which legal policy issues are especially difficult to resolve, and why?

Tu 13 The Doctrine of Precedent, or Stare Decisis

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 2, "Stare Decisis ...", 59-60;

> Bonsignore et. al., Llewellyn, The Bramble Bush, 5-6; State v. Pendergrass, 6-8.

Case Briefing: State v. Pendergrass

Th 15 Definitions of Law; Functions of Law; Origins of Law;

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 2, 31-43;

> Bonsignore et. al.,

Joyner v. Joyner, 9-10; State V. Black, 10-11; Kropotkin, “Law and

Authority,” 149-156.

Case Briefing: Joyner ... Black.

Team Discussion: When specific events occur on

college campuses (e.g., date rape), is it best for the

situation to be handled internally? Why or why not?

Who would tend to benefit the most in a college campus

date rape incident that was resolved by the college

disciplinary board?

Tu 20 Models of Law

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 2, 44-62;

> Bonsignore et. al.,

State v. Rhodes, 12-14; State v. Mabrey, 14-15; Rifkin, “Mediation from a

Feminist Perspective,” 481-485.

Case Briefing: Rhodes ... Mabrey.

Lecture: Dr. Mark Israel, Law Faculty, Flinders University, Adelaide,

Australia: “International Trends in Social Science Ethics”

5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Brennan 228

Th 23 Models of Law (Cont.)

Reading: > Recommended: Friedrichs, Ch. 9, Law as Product, 248-251;

Required:

> Bonsignore et. al.,

Llewellyn, The Bramble Bush (cont.), 15-17; State v. Oliver,

17-19; Fischer, Vidmar, and Ellis, “The Culture of Battering and

the Role of Mediation in Domestic Violence Cases,” 485

Case Briefing: Oliver.

Team Discussion: Compare and contrast the adversarial

model of court procedure to the inquisitorial model.

Is one procedure more fair than the other? Explain.

Tu 27 Models of Law (Cont.); Law and the Judging Process

Reading: > Review: Friedrichs, Ch. 2, 44-62.

Required:

> Bonsignore et. al.,

Frank, The Judging Process..., 22-28;

Handout: A Case of Robbery and Rape; United States v. Dougherty et. al., 411-416; Scheflin, “Jury Nullification: The Right to Say No,” 402-405 [Recommended: Scheflin & Van Dyke, “Merciful Juries ¼, 405-409.]

Case Briefing: A Case of Robbery and Rape; United States v. Dougherty et. al.

Th 29 EXAM #1

October

Tu 4 Return & Review Exam; Law and the Judging Process

Reading: > Recommended: Friedrichs, Ch. 9, Law as Communication, 253-258;

Required:

Ø Bonsignore et. al., Queen v. Dudley and Stephens, 34-39

Case Briefing: Queen v. Dudley and Stephens.

Th 6 Law and Justice

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 3, 63-74; Recommended: Ch. 9, Legal Socialization, 258-259; Legitimation of the Legal System, 263-270.

Required:

Ø Bonsignore et. al.: Nader, “Trading Justice for Harmony,”

536-539; Gotanda, “A Critique of Our Constitution,”

200-202; Arono, “Peremptory Challenges and Affirmative

Action: Constitutional Protection,” 423-427; Alshuler,

“Racial Quotas and the Jury,” 437-439.

Team Discussion: Choose one of the following questions:

1/ Do you think that affirmative action policies are

just? Should they continue to exist? Why or why

not? What stand would libertarians, socialists,

and communitarians each take on affirmative action

issues?

2/ The exclusionary rule exists as one way of

protecting the rights to due process that accused

persons have. Is such a rule really fair? Is it

more important for our legal system to put an

emphasis on achieving procedural or substantive

justice?

Tu 11 Law and Justice; Law and Morality

Law & Conflicting Interests;

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 3, 74-82;

> Bonsignore et. al.,

Susquehanna Fertilizer Co. v. Malone, 85-86; Madison v. Ducktown Sulphur ...,

87-92.

Proposition 215: The Compassionate Use Act of 1996, 162-163; Romer v.

Evans (1996), 164-172.

Case Briefing: Susquehanna Fertilizer ...;

Madison ...

Team Discussion: There is no law that says an ordinary

citizen has a legal duty to save the life of a

drowning person. Should laws be created that

criminalize the act of "doing nothing" in a

situation where one has the capability of coming

to another's aid? In your answer, include

comments on the 1997 David Cash case, as well as

the examples here.

Th 13 Law and Morality; Law and Religion

Law & Conflicting Interests

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 3, 82-88; Review in Ch. 2,

"Justice William O. Douglas ...", 54-55;

Ø Bonsignore et. al., Ohio v. Wyandotte, 81-86.

o [Also: Douglas, dissenting in Terry v. Ohio, 277-278.]

Case Briefing: Ohio v. Wyandotte

Film: Mr. Justice Douglas ...

Tu 18 FALL BREAK

Th 20 Law and Interests; Traditional Schools of Jurisprudence

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 4, 90-102;

Ø Bonsignore et. al., Streich v. General Motors, 110-113;

Thornton & Wife v. Suffolk Manuf., 119-123.

Case Briefing: Streich; Thornton.

Team Discussion: An understanding of law can come from

any number of sources. Which of the schools of

jurisprudence, in your opinion, most accurately

explains, or attempts to explain, law in our

society today? Why, and how?

Tu 25 Traditional Schools of Jurisprudence [Continued]

Reading: > Bonsignore et. al., Fibreboard Paper Products v. NLRB, 124-126; First National Maintenance Corp. v. NLRB, 127-132.

Case Briefing: Fibreboard ...; First National ...

Th 27 Contemporary Schools of Jurisprudence

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 4, 102-117;

Ø Bonsignore et. al.., EEOC v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 179-186;

Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 190-195;

Crenshaw, Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex, 196-

200; McElroy, “Feminism and Porn,” 247-251; 254.

Case Briefing: EEOC v. Sears; Harris v. Forklift Systems

Team Discussion: Discuss some of the major

contributions feminists such as Carol Gilligan and

Catherine MacKinnon have made. Why is it

important to have such a school of jurisprudence?

Will women ever have an equal voice in the law?

November

Tu 1 Fuller's Internal Morality of Law; the Law & Society

Movement

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 4, Review "Lon Fuller and

Legal Naturalism," 93-94;

Ø Bonsignore et. al., M. L. King, Excerpt from Letter ..., 238-240;

Cook v. State, 52-56; Fowler et. al., “Talking with the Enemy,”

531-535.

[On Reserve: Natasha Iris Friedrichs, “Abortion Protesting,”

The Georgetown Journal of Gender and Law 3 (Spring, 2002)

Third Annual Review of Gender and Sexuality Law: 291-306].

Case Briefing: Cook ...

Th 3 EXAM #2

Tu 8 Return and Review Exam

The Law & Society Movement

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 5, 118-131;

> Bonsignore et. al., Galanter, “Why the ‘Haves’ Come Out Ahead¼”,

76-83; Sekulow, “Regulating Internet Access,” 578-586; Berman,“Regulating ¼,” 587-591.

Team Discussion:

With issues such as whether sexual and violent

materials are offensive, who should ultimately

decide? Does it make sense to let the law

decide such an issue for the community? Do you agree or

disagree with the law requiring libraries to install

Internet filtering systems?

Th 11 Sociological Perspectives on Law; Legal Culture; Anthropological Perspectives

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 5, 132-141; Ch. 6,142-149;

Recommended: Ch. 9, Legal Culture, 242-249.

Required:

> Bonsignore et. al., Llewellyn & Hoebel, The Cheyenne Way ..., 144-148; Brown, “The Navajo Nation’s Peacemaker Division,” 517-521.

Tu 15 Note: The instructor expects to be participating in a

professional conference. A film is scheduled. Anthropological and Comparative Perspectives on Law

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 6, 150-164;

Recommended: Ch. 9, Box 9.8, “African

Americans and Legitimation of the Legal Order,” 264-265;

Required:

Bonsignore et. al., Diamond, “The Rule of Law¼,” 221-232.

Merry, The Social Organization of Mediation in

Non-Industrial Societies, 508-516;

Film: "Incident at Oglala"

Th 17 Note: The instructor expects to be participating

in a professional conference. A film is scheduled.

Historical and Contextual Perspectives on the Law;

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 6, 165-179;

Bonsignore et. al., Lenin, “The State,” 108-109; Bedau,

“A Call to Resist Illegitimate Authority,” 410-411.

Film: "The Road to Brown"

Tu 22 Historical, Comparative and Contextual Perspectives on the Law

Reading: Review: Friedrichs, Ch. 6, 150-179;

Recommended: Ch. 9, Obeying Evil

Orders, 261-262

Required:

> Bonsignore, Noonan, “Virginia Liberators,” 262-267.

Th 24 THANKSGIVING

Tu 29 The Legal Profession

Reading: Friedrichs, Ch. 7, 180-197;

> Bonsignore et. al., Mills, "I Have Nothing to Do with Justice,"

361-374; Pierce, "Rambo Litigators: Emotional

Labor in a Male-Dominated Job," 374-381.

December

Th 1 The Legal Profession (continued); Legal Education

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 7, 197-210;

> Bonsignore et. al., Bonsignore, "Law School: Caught in the

Paradigmatic Squeeze," 321-327.

Team Discussion:

Why are some people apprehensive about

hiring a woman lawyer? What can women

contribute to the legal world that men

cannot? Do you think women tend to

adapt to the 'macho' culture, or transform

it?

Tu 6 Law in Action: Selective Aspects ...

Reading: > Recommended: Friedrichs, Ch. 9, 259-263;

Required:

Ø Bonsignore et. al., Florida v. Bostick, 281-289; Arons, “This is

Not America,” 289-291.

Case Briefing: Bostick

Th 8 Law and Social Change

Reading: > Friedrichs, Ch. 10;

> Bonsignore et. al.,

People v. Collins, 391-393; ; Botein & Gordon, "The

Trial of the Future...", 394-396; Lutton, “The End of Executions?¼,” 66-70;

Schulman, “Softwars,” 255-264; Johnson & Post, “Law and Borders¼,”

570-578.

Case Briefing: Collins ...

Week of December 13-17 FINAL EXAM [Date to be announced]

APPENDIX A: Instructor's Articles: The articles listed below are authored by the instructor of this course, and discuss matters pertinent to the course. They are not required reading, but simply elaborate upon some of the instructor's views and interests. They should be available from the University library, or from the instructor.

David O. Friedrichs, "The Law and the Legitimacy Crisis: A

Critical Issue for Criminal Justice," in Critical Issues in

Criminal Justice, (eds., R. Iacovetta & D. Chang), Carolina

Academic Press, 1979.

---, "Radical Theory and the Study of Law," THE ALSA FORUM 6,

No. 1 (1982), 79-94.

---, "The Law and the Contemporary Legitimacy Crisis: A

Programmatic Statement and a Selective Bibliography of

Recent Sources," THE ALSA FORUM 6, No. 1 (1982), 95-104.

---, "Marxism and the Politics of Law," THE ALSA FORUM 8,

No. 2 (1984), 329-347.

---, "A Legal Studies Approach to the Study of the Sociology of

Law," Syllabi and Instructional Materials for Sociology of

of Law (ed. Ronald Berger) ASA Teaching Resources (1985),

20-25.

---, "The Concept of Legitimation and the Legal Order: A

Response to Hyde's Critique," JUSTICE QUARTERLY 3, No. 1

(1986), 33-50.

---, "Introductory Remarks: Symposium on Humanistic Legal

Studies, Critical Legal Studies, and the Marxist Sociology of

of Law," LEGAL STUDIES FORUM 10, No. 3 (1986), 325-330.

---, "Critical Legal Studies and the Critique of Criminal

Justice," CRIMINAL JUSTICE REVIEW 11, No. 2. (1986), 15-22.

---, "Values in Teaching about Law to Undergraduates," FOCUS ON

LAW STUDIES 2 (1987) 1, 6, 8.

---, "Critical Criminology and Critical Legal Studies," THE

CRITICAL CRIMINOLOGIST, 1, No. 2 (1989), 6.

---, "Sociolegal Theory and Critical Pedagogy," SOCIAL JUSTICE

17, No. 1 (1990), 3-18.

---, "Narrative Jurisprudence and Other Heresies: Legal

Education at the Margin," JOURNAL OF LEGAL EDUCATION 40,

Nos. 1 & 2, 1990, 3-18.

---, "Law in South Africa and the Legitimacy Crisis,"

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE AND APPLIED CRIMINAL

JUSTICE 14 (1990), 189-199.

---, "Introduction to the Symposium: Law and the South African

Legitimacy Crisis," LEGAL STUDIES FORUM 16, 1992, 127-129.

--- and Martin D. Schwartz, "The Value of Postmodern Theory to

Critical Criminology: Violence Against Women and Corporate

Violence," PP. 147-176, in W. Richard Janikowski and Dragan

Milovanovic, Editors. Legality and Illegality: Semiotics,

Postmodernism and Law. New York: Peter Lang. 1995.

---, "The Paradoxes of Transitional Justice," PEACE REVIEW 12

(2000), 158-161.

--- and Loreen Wolfer, “A Commitment to Justice at a Jesuit University: A

Comparison of Criminal Justice Majors and Non-Majors, “ JOURNAL OF

CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION 12 (2001): 319-336.

--- and Jessica Friedrichs, “The World Bank and Crimes of Globalization: A Case

Study,” SOCIAL JUSTICE 29 (2002): 13-36.

---, Ch. 9, "Law and the Social Control of White Collar Crime,"

Trusted Criminals: White Collar Crime in Contemporary

Society. Second edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2004.

--- “Law and Society Activities in the United States,” in David Clark, Editor,

Encyclopedia of Law & Society, Thousand Oaks, CA; Sage, Forthcoming.

APPENDIX B: A Selective List of Books Pertaining to Law &

Society

The books listed below are a few works relevant to the concerns of this course, that have come to my attention over the years, that I have found interesting or useful in some way, and that I can imagine might be of interest to the motivated student of law, and law and society. They are in most cases available in a soft-cover edition.

Note: I have restricted myself here to books on my own shelves.

Basic Works on Law, and Law & Society

Richard L. Abel, The Law & Society Reader (1995)

Piers Beirne and Richard Quinney, Editors. Marxism and Law (1982)

Nicholas Blomley, David Delaney and Richard T. Ford, Editors, The Legal Geographies

Reader (2001)

Boaventura de Sousa Santos Toward a New Common Sense: Law, Science and

Politics in the Paradigmatic Transition (1995)

Patricia Ewick and Susan S. Silbey The Common Place of Law (1998)

Lawrence M. Friedman, Law & Society (1977)

Lawrence M. Friedman, American Law: An Introduction (1984)

Lawrence M. Friedman, The Republic of Choice (1990)

Bryant Garth and Austin Sarat, Editors Justice and Power in Sociolegal Studies (1998)

Richard Lempert and Joseph Sanders, An Invitation to Law and

Social Science (1986)

Wade Mansell, Belinda Meteyard and Lan Thomson, A Critical

Introduction to Law (1995)

Stewart Mccaulay, Lawrence M. Friedman, and John Stookey.

Law and Society: Readings on the Social Study of Law (1995)

Lisa J. McIntyre, Law in the Sociological Enterprise (1994)

Philippe Nonet and Philip Selznick, Law and Society in

Transition: Toward Responsive Law (1978)

Jill Norgren and Serena Nanda, American Cultural Pluralism and Law (1996)

Austin Sarat, Editor. The Social Organization of Law (2004)

Edwin Schur, Law and Society - A Sociological View (1968)

A. W. B. Simpson, Invitation to Law (1988)

John R. Sutton, Law/Society: Origins, Interactions, and Change (2001)

Jurisprudence and Legal Philosophy; Critiques of Law

Jerold S. Auerbach, Justice Without Law? (1983)

Donald Black, Sociological Justice (1989)

Edmond Cahn, The Sense of Injustice (1949)

Paul Campos, Jurismania: The Madness of American Law (1998)

Paul F. Campos, Pierre Schlag, and Steven D. Smith, Against the Law (1996)

Lief Carter, Reason in Law (1995)

Stephen L. Carter, The Culture of Disbelief - How American Law

and Politics Trivializes Religious Devotion (1993)

Hugh Collins, Marxism and Law (1984)

Drucilla Cornell At the Heart of Freedom: Feminism, Sex & Equality (1998)

Ronald Dworkin, A Matter of Principle (1985)