Chapter 1: introduction Flashcards
What is law?
A good working definition of law is the following: formal rules that carry the sanction of the state.
It’s good to distinguish between circumstances where non-state rules carry the sanction of the state and where they do not.
What is legal argumentation?
Legal argumentation is argumentation about the content and application of rules—about when and how each of us can invoke the force of the state.
Why is law important to you?
It is important for you to know the protections available to you against harm to your person, your property, or your organization, and to be able to advocate for yourself in these regards.
Law is concerned with the allocation of responsibility, and you will from time to time need to argue with others about their responsibilities, as well as about yours.
What are the differences between statutes, bills, acts, ordinances, regulations, rules, codes, policies, legal opinions, and case law?
Statutes are laws made by legislatures. Most legislatures meet and make new statutes at least once a year. The federal government’s legislature is the United States Congress. Each state has its own legislature (i.e., Oregon State Legislature).
A bill is a formal proposal for a new law or change to an existing law.
An Act is a law also; it is a bill which has passed through the various federal or state legislative steps required for it and which has become law.
While “law” and “act” are often used interchangeably, there is a subtle difference: an “act” refers to a specific piece of legislation passed by a legislative body, while a “law” is the broader term for the rules and regulations enforced by the government, meaning an “act” becomes a “law” once it is passed and enacted.
Ordinances are laws created by local “legislatures”, like city and county governments.
Regulations are not laws themselves, but are legal directives written to explain how to implement statutes or laws. Local regulations must not be less stringent than the state regulations and state regulations must not be less stringent than the federal regulations.
Executive branch agencies have the authority to make regulations because legislatures give it to them by passing statutes that say they have it. Agencies can only make regulations on subjects the authorizing statutes say they can. Therefore, you have to read regulations together with the statutes under which they were made. Regulations, like statutes, are published in subject arrangements called codes.
Regulations and rules are pretty close to the same thing. A regulation is a bit more formal than a rule – it prescribes the required conduct or action exactly;
Rules are also binding, but, by contrast, describe what is generally considered to be the proper course of conduct.
Rules are used by agencies to “fill in the gaps” of legislation. They implement, interpret, apply or enforce a state or federal law or court decision. A rule is adopted by an agency; a statute is a law that is passed by the state Legislature.
What makes an argument stronger?
The true stronger argument is the argument that meets some objective test of strength, and that “should” win.
The objective test should be based on first principles, justice, or truth, but humans are biased and often disagree on these.
A more practical definition would deem stronger the argument that is more substantively appealing – the one that resounds more greatly in logic and policy.
