LS300 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Jim Mcneil, First Nations, Left School
12 Aug 2016
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Document Summary
Law is social shaped by social relations and social relations are shaped by law. Calls into question claims of neutrality & objectivity in law. Set up as an adversarial system in which the focus is to be on legal tests and rules rather than the values of decision makers. About legal methods rather than judge"s opinions and ideas. Police are supposed to apply the law evenly using facts & evidence. The rule of law" claims that: everyone is subject to the law, including the state. Criticism of rule of law: to ignore sexism, discrimination etc is dangerous so we shouldn"t abstract them from their contexts. Everyone has access and protection from the law not everyone does. Official version of law claims to be neutral, but it has western ideas about law, justice and people. Works well for able bodied, affluent, straight, white men. Neutrality is not possible, everyone has perceptions about others, laws, and human behaviours.
