...Law Opinion Ashley Creel CJA/224 Professor Ross Kucera December 19, 2011 Abstract When people talk about courts and all that is involved, the law is one thing that they will always mention. Laws are a group of rules or regulations that are created to protect individuals and their property. Then the laws are enforced among every community in the United States. Americans have made laws since our colonial period and will continue to make laws in order to maintain a well-regulated society (Bakken, n.d.). So to understand the laws in the United States, a person must start with the creation of the laws. This paper will discuss the creation of laws, America’s common law heritage, and the history of the U.S. court system. The United States is a democracy (Meyer & Grant, 2003). That means that the United States is not controlled by a king or queen, but instead, they are governed by a president, senate, and the house of legislature. That doesn’t mean that they citizens of the U.S. don’t have a voice. The citizens are the ones who vote for the President of the United States and the representatives of their states. In a democracy, the legislative branch of government (state or federal legislators) are the people who create the laws, review them, vote on them, and places them into effect. Once the laws are placed in effect, they are then enforced by the executive branch. The executive branch is in control of all law enforcement agencies. After the laws are enforced by the...
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...In the creation of a law, it has to pass through many steps and be passed by several different people. Laws first start out as an idea. Someone gets an idea about a new law that could potentially better society. The idea can be made by even an ordinary citizen. Office of Clerk reports, “These ideas may also come from a Representative.” Once the citizen has an idea, they contact their Representative and if the Representative thinks it is a good law, the bill is then wrote. Once the bill has been written, it needs support from other Representatives. If the bill gets the support, it is then introduced by being placed in the hopper. Office of Clerk states, “The hopper is a special box on the side of the clerk’s desk. Only Representatives can introduce bills in the U.S. House of Representatives.” Once the bill is introduced it is given a number. It is then read to all Representatives and is then sent to the House committee. Office of Clerk states, “Once the bill reaches committee, they review, research, and revise the bill before voting on whether or not to send the bill back to the House floor.” Sometimes more information is needed for the bill before it is sent back to the House floor. If this happens, it is sent to a subcommittee who extensively examines and gives professional opinions before it is sent back to committee. Once the committee has approved the bill, it is then sent to the House floor where it is debated over. Office of Clerk states...
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...CJ/224 Law Opinion Paper When looking at the creation of U.S Laws we can clearly see that part of this is from the Bill of Rights which is our first ten commandments. In the United States our criminal law is entirely a product of the constitutional authority and the legislative bodies. These same legislative and constitutional authority figures also affect our common law or case law interpretation and the regulatory agency decisions. Our U.S constitution is responsible for creating our Congress and giving them the lawmaking power. They also describe the procedural laws that can dictate how substantive laws are to be administered. This important because it sets limits on what can be defined as a crime. The criminal laws are the products of the lawmaking bodies which have the constitutional authority. Looking at the federal statues, they were as well enacted by our Congress. Our state statutes were enacted by our state legislatures. Common law or case law decisions are the byproduct made by trial. Common law is also known as a case law or precedent, developed by judges. The appellate court judge can make laws whenever they seem fit in a particular case. This decision is becomes a potential bases or gives precedent for future outcomes of related cases. It is primarily the written decisions of the appellate court judges a court judge has the potential to decide the precedent. The decisions made by appellate judges are normally in writing, and the Common Law is what...
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...Law Opinion Jane Doe CJS/220 December 3, 2011 Law Opinion Normal law originated in Britain, and was certain procedures were adopted by the United States. The majority of laws are made by the federal and state legislature. Normal law contains rules and other doctrines of the English royal. For more than a four hundred year period, from the eighth to the eleventh centuries, the social system believed that when settling differences there was an increasing of feudalism. Since the United States of America was a new nation and had a government which many felt wasn't as nice as it could be. They were gathering information to create a different way of running the nation. There was a conference, called the Constitutional Convention, in which historical figures, such as Ben Franklin, George Washington, and James Madison attended. The purpose of the Constitutional Convention was for the state representatives to come together to decide the structure of the government. After the final compromises were made and clauses were polished, they voted. (Mount, 2011) The Constitution was finalized in 1787. The Constitution establishes three major divisions of federal government. These are known as the legislative, executive, and judiciary. Each branch has its own part in how laws are created and used. Creating new laws is difficult and the legislatures sometimes have a problem defining them. Sometimes new laws come about because of a recent issue, in which there was no law about it before...
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...Law Opinion Paper Cynthia Willison CJA224 November 8, 2010 Carl Schiff Law Opinion Paper “Lincoln once said that three things only make up a nation: its land, its people, and its laws,” (Gordon, 1991, p. 1), only after this statement it was then realized there were not many laws to speak of. As the nation started to develop and declared independence from the common law of medieval England, common law was enacted and then adapted to America’s needs. The public officials, legislators, enact the laws of bodies of rules then the law is enforced by the executive branch, which the law enforcement was required to respect and obey. To make sure the proposed laws are legitimate the judicial branch acts as mediator to evaluate the principles in the United States Constitution and other important American legal documents without prior court decree. This is why the framers of the Constitution decided to for the American government to have a system of checks and balances because no one branch can act alone, so all three branches collaborate; therefore the power of each branch is balanced (Meyer & Grant, 2003). The separation of powers was formulated by the framers of the Constitution to share the same power as checks and balances. Each state law-making system is developed with a similar structure of the government; however with dissimilar law-making traditions. Although some states the state legislature congregates per annum discussing law-making whereas state legislatures...
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...Law Opinion Paper Introduction to Criminal Court System CJS/220 Instructor: XXXXXXXX Law Opinion Paper: The relationship between the common law and the legislature. The American common law system had originally been mirrored from medieval England, when criminals and civil laws were decided by judges based according to biblical prophecies as well as where they presided from. Now laws are created, enforced and micromanaged by three legislative branches of government. The reasoning for each branch having specific responsibilities is so that no one branch is able to corrupt the “checks and balances” system that was based according to the principals written in The United States Constitution and other important legal documents. The Legal System The United States government is overseen and governed by laws that were created by public officials. There are three branches of government: * The Legislative Branch of government (state or federal) enacts a group laws that are enacted by public officials. * Once the laws are enacted then they are enforced by The Executive Branch which controls the law enforcement agencies. * The Judicial Branch makes sure that those enacted laws serves a balanced purpose and are legally as well as ethically fair to all in serving their purpose. The American legal system today was conceived based from two major concepts that originally came from the medieval England’s common laws: Precedent and Codification...
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...Law Opinion CJA/224 June 6, State and Federal Court System There are two kinds of courts within the United States; those courts are state and federal courts. The establishments of state and federal courts are local and state courts are established by the state. Federal courts are established by the U. S. Constitution. This established court decides arguments that involve the constitutional laws. State courts have a broaden jurisdiction, those cases are most likely to involve robberies, traffic violations and family disputes and those cases are normally held in state court. The Constitution of the United States (U.S.) has established a system in which the federal government will have limited power and all remaining power will be the decision states. This is proof of powers being shared that defines an interaction among the federal and state courts (Fine). The U.S. judicial system composed multiple autonomous courts, an integrated system that is worked into various geographic units and levels of hierarchy. With that on mind every state will have a court system with systems of local courts that will abide within the state. According to (Fine) both federal and state court structures will have the U.S. Supreme Court as the final arbiter of federal law, as the highest court of every state is called the Supreme Court; and the Supreme Court will have the power to interpret the matters of the law of that state. The criminal laws of the U.S. are a sound productivity of...
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...democratic government which is governed by laws that are introduced by public officials. The United States has a legal system that has three branches to have a division between federal and state law. The three branches of government are legislative, executive, and judiciary which all play a role in the legal system and the creation of laws. The branches of government were put into place to create a system of checks and balances. The branches work together because no single branch of government can act freely based on its own will. The laws and practices of the United States were created based on the foundations of English common law. Also there are many factors that lawmakers must consider and acknowledge before writing laws to be reviewed and executed. The legislative branch was established by Article I of the constitution and consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The constitution gives this branch the authority to pass legislation and send it to the President to be signed, the bill must pass in the Senate and the House with majority vote. Although, the President can veto the bill it can be overridden by passing the bill again through the House and the Senate with at least a two thirds majority vote in favor. The executive branch includes the President of the United States who acts as the head of state and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The executive branch is the branch of government that governs the law enforcement agencies. The President is...
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...States is governed by laws enacted by public officials. The legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government work together as a system of checks and balances. A single branch of government is not free to act on its own accord; oversight from the other two branches is required. The legislative branch, at both state and federal levels is responsible for enacting laws. The executive branch controls law enforcement agency practices. Upon enactment, the executive branch is responsible for enforcing laws. The judicial branch acts as a median between the legislative and executive branches. This branch is responsible for applying and determining the validity of laws in comparison to the principles established in the United States Constitution. Usally provide for the formation of legislative bodies empowered to perform criminal and other laws. U.S. constitution creates congress and gives it lawmaking power. The bill of rights of the U.S. constitution as well as similar amendments to states constitution, also describe procedural laws that dictate hoe substantive laws are to be administered. Constitutions are important to the substantive criminal law they set limits on what can be defined as a crime. The common law heritage of the American legal system is rooted in medieval English legal practices. Judges decided both civil and criminal cases individually, and according to their interpretations of existing customs. Because of this, historical common laws may be referred to as...
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...Law Opinion January 19, 2014 CJS/220 The United States is not controlled by a king and Queen, but instead is governed by a president, senate, and the house of legislature. The United States is a democracy (Meyer & Grant, 2003). As a democracy the United States is governed by laws enacted by public officials. Citizens are the ones who vote for the public officials such as the President of the United States and the representatives of each state. Laws are created to protect individuals and their property, and are enforced in the United States throughout every community. The Bill of rights of the United States Constitution describes procedural laws that dictate how laws should be administered. The legislative branch of the government creates, reviews, and vote on laws then place them into effect. Once the laws take effect, they are enforced by the executive branch which is in control of all the law enforcement agencies. The judicial branch determines if the laws passed are valid according to the U.S. Constitution and will act as an arbitrator if needed. According to Meyer & Grant no one branch can govern the U.S citizens alone, that is why the United States needs these branches in order to work effectively. The American Common Law system originated from the medieval English legal practices where judges decided both criminal and civil cases based on their individual cases (Bakken, n.d). Laws were based on judge’s opinions and how they viewed the existing...
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...In a world where teenagers are often cast aside as rebellious, disrespectful people who can’t do anything beneficial, media seems like the one place that we’re heard. Our generation lives in the age of technology and the avenues through which our opinions can be expressed are becoming greater each and every day. The media is one of the most influential ways to make a difference, and there truly is a way for everyone to express their feelings. There’s art, literature, videos, photography, giving each person a way to be artistically heard. Media gives an individual who may feel like a speck in the world, a bullhorn so they can be heard by millions. Media doesn’t just reach to the people who it was originally directed to, it can reach to many different groups of people and eventually the world, making it an empowering way for your opinion to be heard. It seems like whenever there is a political debate or the news is on, issues regarding schools are constantly brought up. School reform is something that our government is always trying to regulate, but are these politicians always the best qualified to make the decisions about schools? Students are never asked their opinions on the reforms and laws that are directly impacting their education and consequently their lives. Documentaries are frequently made regarding issues in schools, but they are from the point of view of people not directly involved in the issue, giving it an outside clear view on what the issue truly...
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...Judgement The statement I decided to disagree with was under "Judgement" and this statement said "If society believes a behavior or a belief is morally wrong, it is a good idea to adopt and not challenge that belief." I strongly disagree with that. I truthfully believe that if a person has a strong belief on something, they should stay with it. No matter what it is. I don't think anyone should have to change their belief(s) just to fit in with society. It's your belief, therefore anyone else's opinion should be irrelevant. A lot of times with beliefs, you won't be alone with them. There will usually be someone right there with you who believes the same thing or something close enough to your belief. The biggest example that I can think of has to do with sexuality. A lot of people believe it is wrong. A lot more people argued for a long time about gay/bi/lesbian couples getting married. Eventually, thankfully, enough people stood up for themselves. Even more importantly; their beliefs. It's truly amazing to see how people standing up- and enough of them at that- get what they believe. Standing up for yourself is hard. These people went through a lot of work, shame and social problems getting to where they are today. So on June 26, American finally took the first step and made gay marriage legal. Many people probably hate that day, for a number of reasons. But that's okay, cause they aren't involved in it and it isn't tampering with their own personal beliefs. Overall, I do not...
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...really affect a persons life. Social media plays a crucial role in our every day lives. Some people rely on social media so much that they allow it to run their lives. It can only take one troll to make a users life miserable. Although online anonymity has a lot of negatives, it can be somewhat beneficial to users. It can allow the anonymous person to express his or her beliefs and opinions for everyone to see. Having said that, people don’t always use the privilege to speak anonymously. By allowing anonymity anyone can literally write whatever the user wants without any repercussions. Majority of the people are normally just being facetious when commenting on blogs just to get a rise out of some people and gain attention even if it may be negative attention. Cyber bullying can be very dangerous and illegal for the most circumstances poses as a threat. Threatening someone via online anonymously can still get the user in some trouble with the law. It is still considered assault or harassment on someone even when it is anonymous. Law enforcements have a way to track the anonymous attacks down and hit you with some charges. The head of the social media sites should have a higher punishable Consequence to users who do not follow the code of conduct when it comes to privacy terms. Social media needs to come up with a program specifically for online bullying. The amount of attacks will decrease with better enforcement...
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...Public Statements of Opinion The first amendment protects the right of people to have and share opinions. People speak their minds (unfortunately not always WITH their minds) knowing that the freedom of expressing their beliefs is there. The information gets published and it becomes available to the public through television, radio, internet, etc. and it ranges from sports outcomes to new gossip about the presidential election campaigns. The unfortunate part of all this is figuring out which opinions are worth taking in as reliable and valuable as this bulk of information comes from people from all over the world with different environments and issues that filter their views. Not everyone shares the same views and not all of the important information floating around will ever seem valuable, but people need to get their priorities straight and acknowledge what is really going on. The media is filled with random opinions of random people from random places and random backgrounds. So which ones do you trust? The people with the highest education can be reliable with technical facts, but what about personal views? Do you trust the opinion of a renowned physicist when he makes a comment about a “true” religion? Is a mathematician the best person to comment about how abortion is wrong and that it should be illegal? You have the right to creating your own views and choosing to not believe any other opinions. Everyone is allowed an opinion and the fact that the...
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...Some people say that the Internet provides people with a lot of valuable information. Others think access to so much information creates problems. Which view do you agree with? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion. There is no doubt that the Internet is one of the greatest humankind's inventions of the last century. It is fast and easy way to get a lot of valuable information. However, some people believe that the Internet creates many problems. From my point of view I think that the Internet brings us advantages as well as disadvantages. First of all, I think that the Internet brings us many benefits. People can have access to the latest news, weather, traffic, bid-and-asked quotations, etc. Another important benefit is that the Internet is a great means of communication. A few years ago it was rather difficult to imagine that it would be possible to communicate with people from all around the world. Students have the opportunity to speak to the professors from prestigious universities, ask their opinions and extend their range of interests. People have the opportunity to communicate with the people from other countries, find out their customs, traditions and even visit each other. I think that the Internet makes our world smaller and friendlier. We' ve got the chance to learn more about the world's history, our forefathers and gain more knowledge. From the other hand, many questions and difficulties arose with the appearance of the Internet. For example...
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