Transcript LSCL2Theoretical.ppsx

Theoretical Approaches
Class 1
Administrative
 Reading for next time: Donahue,
“Allocating Resources Among Prisons
and Social Programs in the Battle
Against Crime”
Review
 Some of the arguments about the death
penalty are value judgments not really
subject to analysis by social science
 Same is true for differences between
Europe and the USA in regulating the
internet
 However, for many of the key issues, social
scientific methods can shed light on the
arguments
 Any questions about the reading?
Today
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III.
IV.
V.
Natural Law and Its Critiques
Sociological Theorists
Legal Realism
Functionalism
Critical Legal Studies
I. Natural Law and Its Critiques
 Based on reason and the nature of
human beings
 Examples?
 Enacted laws should always be based
on principles of natural law
 These notions have been challenged
and largely supplanted
II. Sociological Theorists
 Who are the three most important
sociologists in history? The founders
of the discipline?
 In each case, their view of law is part
of their larger view of society and
social relationships
 How does each view law?
III. Legal Realism
 Associated with Oliver Wendell
Holmes
 In practice judges must formulate
law, can’t just interpret it
 The judges view of what is “justice” in
a given case is crucial
 How does this relate to what we now
call strict constructionism?
IV. Functionalism
 Social systems made up of interrelated
parts with complex cause and effect
 Social systems in state of dynamic
equilibrium
 All social systems face strains and
deviations
 Change is slow and adaptive
 System is integrated through shared
values
V. Critical Legal Studies
 Related to the earlier doctrine of legal
realism
 Reject notion that law is “objective” and
without political, economic or social
values
 Examples?
 Law is part of the system of power
rather than a protection from power
 Feminist Legal Theory and Critical Race
Theory are closely related to this
Next Time
 What theories of law are reflected in
the Donahue article?
Theoretical Approaches
Class 2
Administrative
 Return quizzes at end of class
 Will present journal entries second
half of this class
Review
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Natural Law
Sociological theorists of law
Legal Realism
Functionalism
Critical Legal Studies
Today
I.
Concepts to understand Donohue
article
II. Impact of incarceration
III. Impact of social programs
IV. Results
V. Theoretical perspective of this
analysis
I. Concepts to Understand
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Marginalism
Elasticity
Present Discounted Value
Stocks and Flows
Marginalism
 “The crime reduction achieved from
the last dollar spent” on each activity
should be the same. Why?
 What would you do if a dollar spent
on one activity reduced crime by 1%
and a dollar spent on a second
activity reduced crime by 2%?
 In optimal situation, each dollar buys
the same amount of crime reduction
Elasticity
 How responsive one variable is to a
change in another related variable
 How much less gas will people buy if
the price goes up 1%
 Elasticity of crime with respect to
incarceration?
 How much do they estimate this
elasticity to be?
Present Discounted Value
 How do we measure a stream of costs
extending into the future?
 What is the current value of having to
pay $1000 per year for the next 20
years? Is it $20,000? Why or why
not?
 Rationale for discounting
 Result is a number that represents
the current value of costs (or
incomes) that extend into the future
Stocks and Flows
 Stocks – variables that can be measured
at a point in time
 Flows – variables that must be
measured over time
 Stock of criminals in jail at any one
point different from the net flows in and
out
II. Impact of incarceration
 What does incarceration do that might
reduce crime?
 Incapacitation
 Deterrence
 Rehabilitation
 Does incarceration do anything to increase
crime?
 Reduces earnings potential
 Leaves family members in poverty
 Provides criminal contact
III. Impact of social programs
 What kinds of social programs do
Donahue finds effective in reducing
crime?
 Are we likely to be able to get similar
crime reduction to the programs cited
in the study? Why or why not?
 What did Donahue do to compensate
for likelihood that programs will be
less effective?
IV. Results
 His conclusions depend on some
strong assumptions, e.g. targeting
the social programs on the most
“high risk” groups
 Why are the estimates of the benefits
of shifting funding to social programs
likely to be understated here?
 Still what does Donahue conclude?
V. Theoretical Perspective of this
Analysis
 What is the theoretical perspective of
this analysis?
 What assumptions does it make
about why crime is a problem and
about the role of law
 Impact of crime can be measured
economically
 Crime prevention is an economic
proposition
Next Time
 We’ll begin process of selecting topics
for case presentations so look at the
topics and prepare to vote on those
you would like to do
 The Organization of the Law