Status Updates From Law 101: Everything You Nee...

(Actually reading 6th edition, but that’s not on Goodreads)

“A series of widely publicized studies asserted that all of the efforts at rehabilitation had little effect on rates of recidivism, or criminals tendency to repeat their crimes. Some rehabilitative programs might work under some circumstances, but we have no firm basis for knowing which is which, so constructing a system of criminal punishment on rehabilitation is arbitrary at best and irrational at worst.”

“Criminal law theorists offer two kinds of justification for punishing criminals, called the utilitarian and retributivist positions. Utilitarians view criminal law as useful, in that punishing criminals benefits society. Retributivists see the primary role of criminal law as retribution; in other words, criminals are punished because they deserve it.”

“The core of criminal law, then, is moral condemnation and punishment based on blameworthiness. A crime is a wrong that deserves punishment because the criminal has violated defined, public standards of morality. Even this definition is not perfect, but it captures the essence of what distinguishes criminal law from other bodies of law.”

“Patents and copyrights are protected because they are original creations. Trademarks are protected because they have commercial value” (ie, the Golden Arches)

“Real property is land and things permanently attached to the land. Personal property is everything else.”

“Property is not really about the ownership of things. Instead, property is about relationships among people with respect to valuable resources.”

“Property isn’t limited to tangible things.”

“Contracts are enforceable because people expect that someone who makes a promise will carry through on it. When the promise is broken, the injured party’s expectation is the usual measure of contract damages.”

“The doctrine of duress is reserved for cases in which the contracting party has no reasonable alternative but to take the deal that is offered and the deal is really one sided, as is the case with the victim of a hold up.”

“Even when trouble does occur in a contract, contract law is a remedy of last resort.”

“Most agreements are made and performed with no trouble. Law students are trained to look on every deal as a potential disaster, so lawyers often lose sight of how well things usually work”

“Contracts, therefore, define what we mean by a society based on the market and individual choice. Contract law has two special functions in making this kind of society possible. It provides a dispute resolution mechanism for exchanges, and it demonstrates society’s commitment to freedom and autonomy.”

“Contract law concerns all aspects of the making, keeping, and breaking of promises and agreements.”