Course+Overview

= = Foundations in Law //Foundations in Law// (Grade 9 or 10) is a course that helps students understand how and why governments and laws are formed, enacted, interpreted, and changed. Students explore diverse areas of law, including criminal law, civil law, constitutional and civil rights, and international law. Throughout the year, students learn about the range of careers in the legal system. //“The most interesting part of this course is learning about how all the laws developed. The course empowered me by helping me choose the career I might want one day, and it made me want to do more in my community through civic action.”//

Essential Questions:

 * Why do we have laws? What is the role of law in society?
 * What are justice and injustice?
 * Why are there different interpretations of the law?
 * What are the different roles and professions in the U.S. legal system?
 * How does the U.S. legal system affect young people, and how can they help achieve justice in their community?

Students examine course material through many lenses:

 * **U.S. Law and Law Enforcement:** How laws are created, enforced, and interpreted and the relationship between law and public policy at the federal, state, and local levels of government
 * **Career Exploration:** What career paths exist for entering the diverse fields of law, law enforcement, and advocacy
 * **Philosophical and Historical Foundations:** How and why a social contract, document, or law evolved
 * **Power and Fairness:** How the law and legal systems can be used both to protect and to oppress individuals and groups, and how power is allocated within society
 * **Advocacy and Policy:** How individuals and groups, including young people, can take action to influence our legal system and achieve justice
 * **Comparative Systems:** How the U.S. legal system compares with the legal and political systems, philosophies, and practices of other countries.

Course Sequence

 * [|Unit 1: Human Nature, Rules, and Power: The Origins of Law]
 * [|Unit 2: The Legal System in Action]
 * [|Unit 3: Criminal Law and the Pursuit of Justice]
 * [|Unit 4: Lawsuits and Liability: Civil Law Systems]
 * [|Unit 5: Equal Justice Under the Law: Social, Political, and Legal Equality]
 * [|Unit 6: International Law and Human Rights]