Preliminary Legal Studies First Two Topics

What are values?

• Principles, standards, or qualities considered worthwhile or desirable within a society
• Something valued by the public
• Principles, standards, or qualities NOT considered worthwhile or desirable within a society
• A way of deciding between different choices

What are ethics?

• A type of value that governs a persons conduct in certain situations
• A  type of value that tells people the wrong way of behaving in a given situation
• Something that leads to punishment by the state
• Something that ends up in court

Which of the following are characteristics of a just law?

• Rational, fair, impartial, consistent

• Stability, predictability and retrospective

• Procedurally fair, flexible, and unstable

• Upholds human rights, is known to the public, and retrospective

What is justice made up of?

• Equality, fairness and access
• Access, equality and just laws
• Just laws, fairness and equality

What is the rule of law?

• The principle that no one is above the law

• The principle that only the government is above the law

• The principle that some people are above the law

• The principle that the government can do what it wants

What is anarchy?

• A lack of laws, or existing laws not being enforced
• Existing laws being selectively enforced
• No one being told what to do

What is tyranny?

• A single ruler holding absolute power in a nation
• A single ruler holding limited power in a nation
• A single ruler holding absolute power in a city

A judge in a Supreme Court trial by jury does not:

• decide relevant points of law
• have the power to direct a jury to acquit an accused
• pass sentence on the convicted criminal
• decide the guilt of the accused

A major problem with the adversary system of trial is that:

• the use of the doctrine of precedent means that it is difficult to predict the outcome of a trial
• the adversary system can only effectively operate where both sides are equally represented
• it is a contest between opposing parties and never focused on justice or truth
• the court closely supervises the preparation of the case at the pre-trial stages

the jury

• decides guilt or innocence based on the evidence presented
• hands down the sentence
• may investigate the case themselves
• asks questions of the accused through the judge