WHAT IS LAW?

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Jurisprudence

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• The study of law and legal philosophy

Laws and Values

• Law generally reflect and promote a society’s values

• Our legal system is influenced by what society considers to be right and wrong

***However everything that is immoral is not criminal

Goals of our Criminal Justice System

•Protecting basic human rights

•Promoting fairness

•Help to resolve conflicts

•Promote order and stability

•Promoting desirable social and economic behavior representing the majority

•Protecting the rights of the minority

Laws and Values Continued

•Laws can be based on moral, economical, political or social values

•As values change, laws change

•Many laws may combine moral, economical, political, and social values•Example: Laws against theft

Human Rights

•Rights that all people have because they are human beings.

•Both government as well as private citizens can violate human rights

•Human rights are observed by almost every country in the world.•UDHR: Universal Declaration of

Human Rights

Kinds of Laws

• Criminal Law : • Regulate public conduct and set out duties owed by

society• A criminal case is a legal action that can only be brought

on by the government against a person charged with committing a crime

• The person accused of the crime is called the defendant • Criminal laws have penalties and offenders are

imprisoned, fined, placed under supervision or punished in some other way.

• Felony: Penalty is a term of more than one year in prison

• Misdemeanor: Penalty is a term of less than one year in prison

Civil LAW

• Civil Law: Regulate relations between individuals and groups of individuals in society• A civil case is brought by the plaintiff (the

person that has suffered an injury)• Civil Action: A law suit that can be brought on

by an individual who feels wronged or injured by another

• Class action: A law suit brought on by a group of people who feel to be wronged by a private corporation or government entity

Lawsuits

Why does a person bring forth a lawsuit?

• They have suffered a wrong

• They would like to establish liability

• Obtain a judgment

Burden of Proof

• In a criminal case, the burned of proof lie with the prosecutor

• The prosecutor must prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt• The jury must be 99% convinced that the defendant

committed the crime• OJ Simpson was acquitted

• In a civil case, the plaintiff wins by convincing the jury by a preponderance of evidence• The jury must be 51% convinced that the defendant is at

fault• OJ Simpson was found at fault in civil case and ordered to

pay damages

Trial: Burden of Proof

• Difference burden depending on the nature of the case.

CIVIL CASE CRIMINAL CASE

Preponderance of the Evidence.

51% ?

Beyond a reasonable doubt.

99% ?

The End

• http://investigation.discovery.com/videos/crimes-of-the-century-oj-simpson-videos/

• http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/kitty_genovese/1.html