Introduction: The American Legal System PDF

I ·~bDUCTION: THE AMERICAN AL SYSTEM ~.most communication students, the study of First Amendment law fpart of a full professional curriculum. Although some students in.iication schools and departments may decide to go on to law school )1 to practice law, the...

I ·~bDUCTION: THE AMERICAN AL SYSTEM ~.most communication students, the study of First Amendment law fpart of a full professional curriculum. Although some students in.iication schools and departments may decide to go on to law school )1 to practice law, the vast majority will be consumers of law. It is ;}y for the latter that this book is intended. Any intelligent commu- ".professional should know enough about the law to make some on- i judgments (even under deadline pressure), should know enough to a~: superior when a potential legal problem is spotted, and should ___ particularly after reaching management level-when to seek. the e~Of an attorney. With some experience, the consumer of legal advice $liow to take the attorney's advice. Some attorneys are more cautious 'others and tend to advise their communication clients against broad- Ji or publishing material that might prompt a lawsuit. Others will st editorial changes that, without diminishing the news value, of a "will minimize the likelihood of a lawsuit. Still other attorneys, 'larly those who represent major media outlets, may be more daring, '; a media client, "Publish or broadcast what you need to. If there's a.em worry about that then." ':~wcomers are often surprised to discover how uncertain the law ~. Many questions have never been anticipated by legislators nor been ~red by the courts. Sometimes in two similar cases in different regions :'~'country, two courts have reached opposite conclusions. Bright ,C'eysdisagree when they predict the outcomes of cases. Judges-even. rune justices of the Supreme Court of the United States-frequently.':ee with one another and arrive at split decisions based on 5~' or 6~3 '>Newcomers to the law may be surprised to find, after they have read )ijOrity opinion and agreed with it, that they also agree with points e in the dissenting opinion. It should not be quite so surprising that arguments are frequently found on both sides of a dispute that has ted the Supreme Court. '. extbooks like this one give heavy emphasis to Supreme Court opin- , aecause those opinions influence the application of the law in all the.;;courts. They also influence out-of-court decisions made on a more " al basis. It should be recognized, however, that a case that reaches supreme Court is an unusual case rather than a typical one. If, for ,pIe, we were to examine 1,000 instances in which the media had :.shed or broadcast something erroneous about individuals, we would 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM A. SOURCES OF LAw probably find that most of the resulting "disputes" were resolved by the rof' law was developed in the United States. In addition to the federal media retracting the erroneous statements, by the unhappy parties being.titution, each state has its own constitution. These documents decree advised that they did not have a libel case because they really had suffered rnmental organization, describe the duties and responsibilities of gov- no reputational harm as a result of the error, or by the individuals deciding ~ntal branches and officials and frequently specify certain individual that they did not have the time, inclination or money to file a lawsuit. Even ; such as freedom of expression. if 100 of those disputes resulted in lawsuits, the odds would still favor an )onstitutions are written to allow flexibility as social conditions out-of-court settlement or a decision by a trial court without the case WgECAsnew questions arise, courts must interpret whether the consti- advancing to the appellate courts. If a single one of those 100 lawsuits were 6ft permits or requires certain conduct. For instance, the First Amend- to reach the Supreme Court, it would be surprising. it to the UnitedStates Constitution reads in part: "Congress shall make If Supreme Court cases are so rare, one might ask, why not study the aw... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..." As "ordinary" cases instead? The most important answer is that the principles ile as this seems, our study of mass media law will show the complexity enunciated in the Supreme Court cases become binding on all the courts hese words. below. Although there is no such thing as a perfect predictor, Supreme lNote that the United States Constitution is reprinted in its entirety in Court opinions can help good lawyers evaluate the chances of their clients' "'iidix A. winning lawsuits. The expectation of winning is one of the things that factors in a decision about whether to settle a case out of court or pursue it j;t'atutes. Congress and state legislatures have passed an array of through a trial and possible appeals. A more detailed explanation of other Elites that comprise another important source of law. The law we factors that may enter into such a decision appears in Chapter III. ~rited from Great Britain generally served as basic authority in the ly days of the United States. After that, statutes adopted by legislative In this chapter, we look not just at Supreme Court cases but at a ies began to take precedence over the judicially-developed law. Today, variety of sources of law in the United States and at the way legal cases ltutes are the dominant form of lawmaking. Much judicial time is spent proceed. '~rpreting these laws and deciding how they apply to specific situations. itutes are general in scope and prospective in operation..," ! , ,.Today all criminal laws in this country are statutory. Describing crimes A. THE SOURCES OF LAw IN THE UNITED STATES efully in statutes ensures people know precisely what conduct is forbid- Law has always been an important force in American lif&--and courts.and also helps to prevent arbitrary enforcement of the laws. Case law have always been at the center of our legal system. Every state constitution ,uld rarely provide sufficient guidance. Obscenity, which will be discussed created a state court system. The United States Constitution established