CHAPTER NINE
Courts and Law

Study

Despite recent events that have shown otherwise, there is still something about courts and the law that makes it feel as if they are separate from politics. Part of this feeling derives from the symbols and language that courts employ, the fact that people expect justice from the legal system, and the important functions that courts perform. However, the law and courts are political in that they fit in with the definition of politics used in this book. The political aspects of the law become clearer when one ponders the difference between law in books and law in action. The political nature of law and the courts becomes further apparent when we realize that people have varying theories about the law and that different nations use different types of legal systems. Some of the mystery that surrounds courts and law can be stripped away by learning about the many different types of law that exist and how these types of law apply in the real world. Students should learn two important lessons from this chapter. First, a nation’s legal institutions, like its other political institutions, perform important functions for its society. Second, there have been an amazing number of television shows dealing with the law. Obviously, there are riches in store for the person who can come up with any original idea in this popular genre.

STUDY QUESTIONS