Complexity, Communication and Change: The Three “C’s” of the American Legal System
Written By Travis A.Law is a tool of social organization. Since the dawn of civilization, order and the complexity of law have evolved. A need for order has always been a necessity in humanity and the need to feel safe encouraged the system of law to arise. Thus, the question of “how” our legal system provides for the safety of our society must be raised. The legal system of centuries past was more primitive, less communicative, not as malleable, and (as a result of all this) less effective than today. The effectiveness of the American legal system in providing for the safety of its citizens is based on the complexity of its structure, the ability to communicate such laws, and the flexibility that such structures can change to an evolving nation.
A biblical term once stated that “there is no freedom without law”. The basic freedoms endeared to every human being should be naturally given; it is the privilege of insight and conscience that differentiates our species from those lower. The necessary tools to uphold such natural rights comprise law. A law is what Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary describes as “a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority” (Merriam).
The first well-preserved legal document was created by Hammurabi, who ruled Mesopotamia from 1792 to 1750 B.C. (Martin). The Code of Hammurabi contained 282 laws covering theft, murder, and personal and social issues. In many cases, death was the punishment, even for lesser crimes. Law 196 stated “if a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.” This, of course, is where the maxim “an eye for an eye” originated (Hammurabi).
In the American legal system, such broad rules are nonexistent; in theory, our system is the ideal for democracy. The model of due process established long ago allows for a fair trial for those charges with crimes. Various fields of law have been created to treat specific matters, such as the environment, the military, and even our own government. Statutes, precedents, clauses, contracts, torts, and appeals are methods for a more fair system of law in our society. Such ideas imply complexity.
When dealing with human behavior, nothing is simple. Law must be created to cover every facet of how we act. 282 laws simply cannot cover the spectrum of human behavior fairly. This is where Hammurabi’s Code becomes futile: it was narrow-minded. A citizen of Mesopotamia may have been wrongly accused of a crime worthy of death. Personal safety was bound by paranoia. A complex, layered structure of code—the American code of law—more fairly carries out legal procedure and protects the innocent.
While it is fundamental to have such complex structures in the legal
system, carrying out such laws fails if basic principles of communication
do not inform every corner of its society. If ignorance is no excuse for
a crime, then proper access to the code of law must be in place. Our safety
as individuals—collectively and singularly—is in jeopardy
if the law is not universally understood. However, in modern times, communication
as a whole has never been more fluid and effective.
In the late eighteenth century, word of newly established laws in the
United States was limited to the speed at which a human being could travel
on horseback. It was adequate for the times, but as the law was to be
refined and amended; and as Americans permeated through the continent,
various towns and areas in the west became isolated and far from commercial
centers, despite advances in transportation. Such distance and isolation
brought about the “wild west”. The safety of individuals was
limited to the strength of those within its own community. Communication
was sparse.
Today, telephone and fax systems have been established, television educates and informs of updated laws, and the recent advent of the Internet provides limitless means to read the regulations that protect us. As well, interpersonal communication is improved. Text and voice transfer almost instantaneously. The amount of information (credible and otherwise) present in our society today far exceeds our capacity to grasp.
The ability to communicate in a society of structured laws has no use if such laws remain unchanged for all time. Our founding fathers recognized that laws need to adapt to societal changes beyond the control of the society that makes them. In crafting the constitution, the ability to create amendments (and to repeal them) was created.
In times that find Americans with higher rates of literacy and knowledge (thanks, in part, to furthered means of communication), people under the age of twenty-one who were informed of candidates for the office of President of the United States couldn’t vote. In 1971, the twenty-sixth amendment was put into law, dropping the age limit for voting to eighteen. Such a change, in modern law, is possible because of the flexibility of its structure.
Currently, fears of terrorist attacks on innumerable targets—ranging from power plants to bridges—have forced our lawmakers to increase defense spending and counterterrorism initiatives. Time will determine the elasticity of finding the balance between civil freedoms and personal safety without tipping dangerously to either end. However our country evolves in the coming years will test the mettle of our American legal system.
However, under the strength of our system of law—through its layered
complexity, the ability to communicate and spread word of laws to all
sides, and its adaptability to hardship and ever-changing times—the
tests that will challenge it should only make it ultimately stronger.
From our country’s inception, we have become safer in all parts
of our lives. With the aforementioned aspects that comprise our system
of law, the American resolve should be on the forefront of the further
evolution of humanity’s social order.
- Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. 2002 ed.
- Martin, Phillip. “Hammurabi’s Code.” 1998. 12 May
2003
http://www.phillipmartin.info/hammurabi/
- Hammurabi. The Code of Hammurabi. Ed. Richard Hooker.
Washington State University Web Archive. 6 Jun 1999.
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/CODE.HTM
