Chapter 5: The Law and Society Movement

Terms in this set (26)

Law and Society Movement

a non-unified enterprise of a large group of diverse scholars who study the relationship between law and society; an endeavor to make sense of the law

Sociolegal Scholarship

written scholarship regarding the relationship between law and society, and adopts a diverse range of methods to do so

- fundamental assumptions on human nature and law
- meaning and relationship of law and justice
- highly focused on ethics, law and morality
- voluntarism and determinism

human beings have free will

human behavior is a product of various forces acting upon people

Political Scientists

- particularly interested in the use/abuse of power; law and politics
- the role of formal institutions of law
- law can constrain power as well as be an exercise of power; found that when the person wielding power is considered legitimate, individuals are more likely to respect and comply

- law and the economic system
- legal policy and economic principles
- law and its economic costs
- capitalism as an economic system (e.g. game theory: focuses on calculations of payoffs by "players" engaged in some form of activity)

- law and the individual behavior and mental processes
- impact of individuals on groups and vise versa
- psychological dimensions of legal decision making and testimony (e.g. memory gaps, stress interference, children)
- perceptions of law and legal institutions
- studied factors influencing the behavior of bystanders and witnesses (e.g. how situational factors influence peoples' response)

- law and society
- law social and group dimensions of legal behavior
- the social organization of legal institutions
- especially significant founding discipline and contributor to the law and society movement
- law and society can be best described as a subdivision of this field

Founding Fathers of Sociology

Karl Marx, Herbert Spencer, Emilie Durkheim, Max Weber

theory of law, science of law

application of anthropological perspectives to law; study of groups of people and their relationship with law

considering the historical context of law; development of law

comparative analysis of laws or legal systems; can be used by any discipline

Social Darwinists

- support the notion that law should not interfere with the process of natural selection
- the government should merely protect personal safety and enforce contracts

Empirical Study

an analysis of the interrelations between legal, social factors, and other variables

Postmodern Colonialism

- Silbey argues globalization has results in this
- refers to the domination of increasingly larger numbers of people who shape and control law and communication in first-world countries

Forensic Psychology

focuses on investigating (and testifying about) psychological patterns in criminal behavior

Positivistic Approach

- influenced by Durkheim and Black
- the application of the perspective and method of the natural science to the sociology of law
- advocates the empirical study of law

Durkheim; stress control of people (primitive)

Restitutive Law

Durkheim; equitable settlement in disputes (modern)

Normative Approach

- influence by the natural law traditional and internal morality of law
- studies the nature of legality and the conditions that encourage its developments

Humanistic Approach

- influenced by the humanistic disciplines such as philosophy, history, and literature
- analysis of law using these disciplines

Ideological Approach

- influenced by Marx
- exposes the political basis and agenda of law
- particular interest in morality

What is considered the first law and society organization?

Law and Society Association

If you were interested in learning about the legal profession or the process of becoming a lawyer, which field of study would be the best place to start?

law and society

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