Factors Affecting Law Flashcards
(39 cards)
What is the idea of justice?
Fairness, deserved treatment, reasonable conduct, impartial authority
What is the relationship between law and social change?
Do laws change society, or does society change the laws? Or both?
How much more likely are Indigenous Australians to be imprisoned compared to non-Indigenous Australians?
13 times more likely
What percentage of Australia’s population is made up of Indigenous people?
Approximately 2.8%
What are the factors contributing to social change?
- Work
- Living
- Technology
- Education
- Language
Do laws influence only external behavior?
No, they can influence attitudes, morals, and values
What is the role of anti-discrimination legislation?
It can assist in changing views and attitudes towards excluded groups
What historical events accelerated social change?
- Industrial Revolution
- Invention of the motor car
- Invention of flight
How has technology influenced law enforcement?
- Finger-printing
- DNA testing
- 3D mapping of crime scenes
- Use of cell-phone locating data
What is cybercrime?
New crimes presented by technology, e.g., online scams, hacking, phishing
What are the seven conditions for the law to successfully induce social change?
- Must come from an authoritative source
- Introduce rationale compatible with existing values
- Reference to other communities with proposed law
- Enforcement aimed at short-term change
- Committed enforcement by authorities
- Positive and negative sanctions
- Seen as reasonable by affected parties
What is the relationship between law and fairness in social change?
Changes are more likely accepted if they reflect existing notions of fairness and justice
What is black letter law?
Firm, easily identifiable direct legal rules
What are Max Weber’s three types of legitimate authority?
- Traditional
- Charismatic
- Rational
What is imperative coordination?
The probability that commands from a given source would be obeyed
What did Stanley Milgram’s study demonstrate about obedience?
People will obey lawful orders even if they harm others
What was the outcome of the Stanford Prison Experiment?
Showed that authority can lead to brutal behavior among participants
What is the significance of the Brereton Report?
Investigated and prosecuted war crimes to preserve Australia’s reputation
What role do sanctions play in law?
Give laws their binding force and ensure compliance
What are the limitations of law as an instrument of social change?
- May serve elite classes at the expense of lower classes
- Different perceptions of law’s treatment
- Powerful may receive legal protection
What does the term ‘white collar crime’ refer to?
Non-violent crime committed for financial gain by individuals in their professional life
Fill in the blank: The law should be seen by those affected as _______.
[reasonable]
True or False: Law is primarily a tool for revolutionary change.
False
What message was sent by the response to the My Lai incident and the Abu Ghraib incident?
Lower ranking soldiers were often convicted or scrutinized, while higher-ranking personnel were either not charged or acquitted.
This indicates a system that disproportionately punishes the less powerful.
