Description
Oxford American Law An Introduction 2017 Edition by Lawrence M. Friedman, Grant M. Hayden
This book provides an introduction to the American legal system for a broad readership. Its focus is on law in practice, on the role of the law in American society, and how the social context affects the living law of the United States. It covers the institutions of law creation and application, law in American government, American legal culture and the legal profession, American criminal and civil justice, and civil rights. Clearly written, the book has been widelyused in both undergraduate and graduate courses as an introduction to the legal system; it will be useful, too, to a general audience interested in understanding how this vital social system works. _ This new edition, which keeps the samebasic structure of earlier editions, has been revised and brought up to date, reflecting the way the legal system has adapted to the complex new world of the twenty-first century. Table of contents : - AcknowledgmentsPreface1. What Is a Legal System?2. Law: Formal and Informal3. The Background of American Law4. The Structure of American Law: The Courts5. The Structure of American Law: Statutes and Statute Makers6. The Structure of American Law: Executing Policy7. Federalism and American Legal Culture8. Inside the Black Box: The Substance of Law9. Crimes and Punishments10. Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties11. On Legal Behavior12. Legal Culture: Legitimacy and Morality13. The American Legal Profession14. Law and Social Change15. Epilogue: The Future of Law in the United StatesNotesIndex