Chapter 1 Ethics and the Law Ethics and

Chapter 1 - Ethics and the Law • Ethics and Structure • The Constitution and the Bill of Rights

Pre-Assess • How much do you know? 1. What is the most fundamental law of the U. S. ? 2. What are the first 10 amendments of the Constitution called? 3. What are the 3 branches of Government? 4. How many amendments make up the Constitution? 5. What is the “Golden Rule”?

What is Law? • **The enforceable rules of conduct in a society. • **Laws define the “legal rights and duties of society” • What does that mean? – What people agree to as normal and acceptable behavior – Question: Does the law ever change in the U. S. or does it always stay the same? Can you think of some examples to support your decision?

Where do laws come from? • • • Ethics Morals Religion Convenience History Etc, etc – What does that mean? Laws naturally develop through many experiences • Can you think of a law that was passed because of one of the items listed above? Hint: Think of attire or language

*First Known Law • The first known law is called Hammurabi’s Code • This law was created in 1772 BC and had several types of laws and remedies. • Although Hammurabi’s Code is the first known law, it was NOT the model for the U. S. legal system.

Ethics • **Ethics: deciding what is a right or wrong action in a reasoned, impartial manner • **Morality: involves the values that govern society’s attitude toward right and wrong • The difference between ethics and morals is very difficult to understand! Even for me. I will use them interchangably throughout the semester • Ethics are based around the following basics: Ø Ø Ø Feelings and Opinions The Greatest Good The Golden Rule Consequential Reasoning Rule-based reasoning

Definitions per Webster • moral, ethical, virtuous, righteous, noble mean conforming to a standard of what is right and good. • moral implies conformity to established sanctioned codes or accepted notions of right and wrong <the basic values of a community>. • ethical may suggest the involvement of more difficult or subtle questions of rightness, fairness, or equity <committed to the highest principles

Feelings and Opinions • Ethics are viewed as how a person feels about a certain situation • Ethics may also be based on what opinions are expressed about certain situations

*The Greatest Good • The idea is that most people will base their opinion of ethics based on how a certain situation affects the greatest amount of people • But!!! There’s always exceptions.

*The Golden Rule • “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” • The heart of the golden rule is empathy • Empathy: putting yourself in the other person’s position

*5 Main Sources of Law 1. Federal and State Constitutions 2. English Common Law 3. Statutes 4. Court Decisions 5. Administrative Law *Federal AND state governments MUST follow ALL 5 sources of law

Who shares each source? State Gvmt X Federal Gvmt X X X Statutes X X Court Decisions X X Administrative Law X X Federal and State Constitution Common Law

The U. S. Constitution • *The U. S. Constitution is the MOST FUNDAMENTAL law in the U. S. • *Congress CANNOT pass laws that conflict with the U. S. Constitution ___________________ • Each state also has their own constitutionalthough it’s similar, it is not identical to the U. S. Constitution. Sometimes they are more protective, narrower, and more restrictive

*U. S. Legal Systems • The U. S. Legal System is based upon the Constitution, where laws are created and amended. The basis for the Constitution is to protect human rights. • Our legal system is based upon three levels of government: Ø Judicial: Led by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decides if the law being made is constitutionally correct. Ø Legislative: Led by Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate consists of two members from every state. The House of Representatives consists of members based on their population. Ø Executive: Led by the President. Elected by vote of the people

More on the Constitution • Meet Tim and Moby!!!

*Common Law • Decisions of the early law courts developed in England, based on customs and traditions • Judges would share their decisions with other judges and made every effort to share the same law “in common” with everyone else throughout the country

Common Law cont. • Eventually court decisions were made, written down, and judges would then refer to these past cases to make decisions. • This led to what the doctrine of “precent”. • Basically it means that a juge is required to folllow an earlier court decision when deciding a case of similar circumstances • **AKA “stare decisis”- which means “let the law stand”

*Statutory Law • Statutory Laws are laws specifically passed by a governing body created for that purpose • They can be laws that order people to do something (like pay taxes) or forbid people to from doing things (like discriminating) • These can by federal, state, city and town governments • Michigan State legislators : Michigan Senators - 38 elected officials, House of Representative 110 elected officials

Court Decisions • Courts make laws by case law, court decisions, and judge-made law • The courts can decide whether laws are “unconstitutional” In these cases, the Supreme Court is the final authority regarding the constitutionality of all laws an government actions

Administrative Law • • Laws made by an administrative agency that has been given the authority to regulate or oversee some type of industry or program (IRS, FTC, EPA, etc) They have MANY powers. They can: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Make their own rules Enforce their own rules Investigate violations of their rules Decide the guilt of innocence of those in violation Hand down punishment for violating their rules