Law Enforcement example essay topic

341 words
PS 241 Professor Lees 10-31-00 Components Of Law In class, we broke components of law up into four categories. System of social norms on which laws are based, a group empowered to enforce the laws, a legitimate system of enforcement, and a system for interpreting the law. Throughout this essay I'll divide up these categories, and give examples of each of them. A system of social norms on which laws are based, generally determine what is good or bad in a society. Legalization of alcohol consumption makes it moral to consume alcoholic beverages, but stores that sell have guidelines to sell the legal beverage. But the il legalization of prostitution, however, is immoral.

Noone should have to sell their body for money in our society. Law enforcement is a group empowered to enforce the laws. Some laws are unenforced, such as traffic and jay walking laws. There is also a legitimate system of enforcement, that lets a body that has seen a legitimate act to carry out the law. An example is a police officer acting on an observed robbery.

The last component of law is a system for interpreting the law. All laws cannot cover every situation that may happen, therefore it must be interpreted. The Supreme court applies or interprets the law and / or gives the law meaning. Words have no meaning unless we give them meaning to laws and the constitution.

The Sociological Definition of law suggests a link between laws and customs. To understand laws you must study social conditions and background (effects all of society). Social ideas are a reaction to backgrounds (motivate people example is taxation without representation). People in the concept of law are individuals who help reactions (Pam Plete ers, Patrick Henry). To understand the law you must know those three key things in the Sociologist point of view.

Sociologists also see laws as rules sanctioned by the government, not necessarily norms.