Law and Society focuses on “law in action” rather than “law on the books.” This course examines the relationship between law and society through interdisciplinary readings and landmark cases from the U.S., other countries, and international tribunals. We will discuss fascinating topics such as the influence of legal symbols in courtrooms, the impact of new technologies on the interaction of legal actors, the role of expert witnesses in anti-discrimination and death penalty cases, public protest and policing, the use of international human rights law in domestic courts in torture litigation and asylum jurisprudence. We will look closely at social movements to see how attorneys contribute to these efforts to achieve social justice for vulnerable individuals in marginalized communities by invoking the law and using other strategies. Sometimes law becomes a tool of autocrats attempting to invoke emergency powers to suspend rights, and we will consider historic and contemporary examples of the abuse of power and how attorneys can challenge repressive law. By the end of the course, students will be able to analyze the role of the legal profession in the context of major societal issues.
