Introduction to The Law And Legal System

At some point, everyone living in the United States has some type of interaction with the American judicial system. For most, this contact is relatively minor: contesting a traffic ticket, suing or being sued in civil court, being a witness in a civil or criminal trial, or serving on a jury. Others are caught up in the criminal justice system - as defendants, as victims, as witnesses, as jurors, or as relatives of a victim or a defendant. For still others, contact comes via an important policy issue affecting their lives in the hands of judges and justices sitting in judgment in marble temples to the law. Yet whatever the level of contact, the American judicial system affects peoples' lives. What courts and judges do matters.

The Chinese market is appealing, but the Chinese legal system is very complicated. A basic understanding of Chinese law is absolutely crucial for companies investing in this fast-growing and potentially huge market.

For one-semester undergraduate courses in Law and Society, Sociology of Law, Introduction to Law, and a variety of criminal justice courses offered in departments of Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Political Science.