Personal Factors Affecting Legal Consciousness

The rights and freedoms the Bill of Rights Provides are significant. One of the rights it gives us is Freedom of speech with the right to protest peacefully. This allows us to voice our opinions on topics and issues without fear of repercussion . Another right it gives us is the right to take up and bare arms. This allows us to buy and keep guns and use them in a safe manner.

Sometime during your education, whether you’re a criminal justice student or paralegal studies student. You learn some type of law whether its criminal

This week’s article “Situating Legal Consciousness: Experiences and Attitudes of Ordinary Citizens about Law and Street Harassment” by Laura Nielsen studies people’s attitudes towards the regulation of offensive public speech by race, gender and class and the reasoning behind their attitudes. Nielsen introduces the idea of legal consciousness, which reflects on the unique backgrounds within these disadvantaged groups and how it affects their understanding and importance of law (RELATION?). This study found that the majority was against legal regulation of offensive public speech based on the assumption that they can handle these situations on their own, similar to the idea of in house dispute resolution offices in which these situations are

The following are examples of what might be on a ‘Bill of rights’, i.e. a list of what rights it is reasonable for a human to expect:

17. The Bill of Rights was created to guarantee rights such as the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to bear arms. 18. Popular Sovereignty stated that the government can only govern with the people’s

The traditional legal perspective is law-centered. Law is purely law; it is limited in its

Without the basic freedoms that the First Amendment of the United States Constitution allots to United States citizens, the societal progression that has been made in more than 200 years would be lost. The courageous words of Martin Luther King Jr. would only be a whisper among an insignificant-sized crowd without the freedom to speak openly and voice one’s opinions. The controversial pieces of art created by artists like Richard Serra, David Hammons and Andy Warhol would never have graced the insides of prominent art museums. A Catholic church and a synagogue could not reside beside each other if the First Amendment’s freedom to practice any religion had not been put into effect by the nation’s forefathers.

The historical roots of the American Bill of Rights come from two concepts: liberty and republicanism. Both liberty and republicanism are intertwined. At their roots, they are regularized constructs designed to achieve a

As evident in the words of the Constitution, the Framers sought to shape a perfect union out of Colonial America while also reinforcing the importance of individual liberties via the Constitution’s Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights is a collection of the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Nearly a decade following the Continental Congress free of speech is preserved and guaranteed by the first amendment, solidifying the value Colonial Americans place upon individual liberties. By mimicking the principles laid out in the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights most heavily defends individual liberties. Liberties such as protection against unwarranted search and seizures, the right to a speedy trail, and trail by jury. By defining and defending these individual liberties Colonial Americas designed a system for the collective good that would provide justice to the

The Bill of Rights reassures Americans of their freedom from State involvement. This includes the following rights afforded to us:

The Bill of Rights: A Normative Critique The Bill of Rights, proposed by James Madison is a list of rights that are entitled to every American in the United States. The purpose of these rights are to protect the well-being of citizens and guarantee a number of personal freedoms. The bill of rights was originally proposed in 1789 when James Madison discussed adding amendments to the constitution (Madison, p. 1).

Personal identity is essential in the human experience. Identity is complex and can be broken down into two main groups: introspective identity, and bodily identity. Introspective identity is based off of the groups, mentalities, or beliefs that you align yourself with, and bodily identity is based off of the physical side of yourself. Whether physical or introspective, your identity impacts every action you take. Whether choices ranging from what colors you prefer to which college you want to attend are primarily based off of your introspective identity, which is a combination of both memory and consciousness, physical identity impacts how others perceive you. Consciousness is mainly the awareness of bodily identity as well as continuous introspective identify, while memory is awareness of introspective identity. These two different facets of identity are imperative in the distinction between bodily identity and introspective identity. In means of personal identity introspective identity (which is evident in memory), is essential, while bodily identity (based partially in consciousness) has less credit.

Our interactions within the law and society may be described as acts of legal consciousness. The term 'legal consciousness' is used to describe an understanding of the law, society, and ones place within. This awareness is informed by, and informs our societal interaction at both a group and individual level. It is my strong belief, that through critical reflection of our legal consciousness, we are empowered with the ability to influence and analyze the role of law and its effectiveness within society. Legal consciousness is both a form of scrutiny and a device of law. It is the basis for the formation of opinions on some of the more difficult ethical or moral questions posed, such as; abortion and euthanasia.

There are two major areas of law, civil law and criminal law. As a society, people tend to not pay attention to law unless they are in the middle of an issue. The two areas of law are important to know though, since an issue can occur at any time and it is important to be prepared and have a basic understanding of what is happening and what to do. Many people do not know the distinction between civil law and criminal law, and while the ramifications vary considerably for each, the cases can occur simultaneously, which is why it is important to know the differences and in what scenarios each form is used.

Before going into college to study Criminal Justice, I had the same opinion as most people had when it came to criminals or deviant behavior. The classic “if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime,” phrase was mentioned many times throughout my youth, whether it be for something as simple as an explanation for grounding me or to explain why doing the wrong things will give you a one-way ticket to prison. My life was surrounded by crime. I managed to separate myself from the “wrong-doers” with the help of my mother, but I still spent most of my life around law enforcement. To me, police officers were always the ones doing everything right. In my mind, if someone died at the hands of a police officer it was probably their fault, if they were beaten they deserved it, the police were only doing what they had to do to make our communities a safer place.