Nature, Functions, and Limits of the Law
Jonathan Brand
Office Location: Padour Walker Administration Building
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., and by appointment
e-mail: jonathan.brand@doane.edu
Office Phone: 826-8253
Course Overview
Course Requirements
Detailed Syllabus
Course Blackboard
Legal Links
Students in this course will study the means and ends of social ordering through law. That is, the class will explore what law is and is not and what it is capable of doing within the social context. The course will consist of the following units: 1) law as an instrument for remedying grievances; 2) law as an instrument for defining and punishing crimes; 3) law as an administrative-regulatory instrument; 4) law as a facilitator of private arrangements between people; and 5) law as a way of promoting safety and human rights. The course materials will consist largely of photocopied original materials. Students are expected to attend class regularly and be well prepared to participate in class discussions. There will be two written papers (and two rewrites). Participation, which will include several in-class presentations, will be graded.
Individual interests are often in tension with each other; they are also often in opposition to a common or societal goal/value. This course seeks to introduce you to the law's capacity to mediate between these individual interests as well as the law's attempts at furthering the common good, often at the expense of individual interests. The law is a powerful instrument for encouraging people to work together. However, it is not capable of resolving every problem or achieving every goal. How does the law resolve disputes? How does it maximize welfare and wealth? How is it structured? Who decides what we mean by "law" and how it functions? Who decides what the societal interest is or whether it trumps what an individual wishes to do?