Essay Law Week 1

Submitted By marximus
Words: 807
Pages: 4

Law serves many different roles and functions in business and society. According to our text, law is defines as “a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by a controlling authority, and having legal binding force.” (Melvin, 2011) Laws provide a system of regulations that defines crime and the appropriate punishment for said crimes and violations. Regulations set the standards for many companies and influence their conduct as well as their business style. Laws help business and society run more efficiently, fairly and and force companies to play towards their customers and company longevity rather than only what goes in their pockets. Although there are new laws which are made daily, the Constitution is the foundation from which establishes regulations at the city, state and federal levels. President Calvin Coolidge stated that “the chief business of America is business.” (CENTER) Business in America is focused on the pursuit of the almighty dollar rather than happiness and freedom. With so many citizens focusing on how to make it in America, laws and regulations are implemented in order to ensure fairness and safety for all seekers. The Due Process Clause “protects individuals from being deprived of “life, liberty, or property” without due process of law. Fundamentally, due process rights require the government to provide some type of hearing and procedure whenever the government has taken some action that deprives an individual or business of some liberty or property interest.” (Melvin, 2011) Law provides a way for individuals as well as groups to resolve disputes, whether due to theft or difference of interpretation, and helps aid them in appropriately dealing with the ramifications or consequences of breaking said laws in a peaceful manner. American law is very diverse, so because of this, law in business and society has been divided into three separate categories in order to classify any wrong doing. The first of these three classifications is Criminal and Civil Law. Criminal law are cases that involve the commitment of a crime, violent or non-violent, where as the accused are prosecuted by an overseeing governing party such as the court system. On the other hand, Civil Law are cases in which parties are allowed to bring suits against each other for actual or interpreted wrongs and seek restitution for said actions. For example, a man steals a car and in turn runs into a man on the sidewalk. In criminal law, the man would be prosecuted for theft of vehicle and reckless driving while the law suit against him for injuries sustained by the pedestrian would fall under the civil law. Second category would be the Substantive and Procedural law. Substantive law is the duties and rights of people in society while the procedural law are guidelines for courts to set punishments and deal with who breaks the law itself. For example, substantive law would say that stealing the car is a crime, however procedural law will outline the way to correctly prosecute and sentence the accused. The third category is Public and Private Law. Public law defines the framework for cases in which the relationship between the individual and