SOC 305 The Sociology of Law
3 hours
This course examines the place of legal systems within social systems according to competing social theories. Systems of jurisprudence, both civil and criminal, will be explored for their social meaning and use as instruments of social control. Obvious, as well as hidden, functions and consequences of the administration of justice, along with the interactions among lawyers, police, prosecutors and judges, and their impacts on the public will be studied.