Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Legal Authority
I think legal authority is important as a mediator among individual disputes, but it is based upon more than just that. Legal authority is also based upon people following and respecting the law. I guess that goes back to the discussion of why people choose to follow the law. If people follow it for moral reasons, then the legal authority is kind of irrelevant. But if people follow the law because they are afraid of punishment or respect what the law does to protect their own justice, I think that is because of legal authority. I think most reasonable individuals do recognize legal officials as having commanding authority, whether we may agree with their power or not. And even though some parts of our legal system may be corrupt or unjust, a legal authority still exists. I think we should accept the law’s capacity to resolve disputes because we really have no better option to do so. Some disputes are probably better resolved without legal action but others need an arbitrator involved in the situation. I think the law’s capacity to resolve disputes is reason to respect its authority, but there other reasons as well, such as the preservation of justice and individual rights. I guess it makes sense to think that people respect the authority of law when it benefits them.
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My question to you is can an individual not agree with the legal authority but still respect the authority of the law because it still benefits them. I have to say that it seems so contradictory to say that one can not agree with the law, but still respect it to protect oneself. While I suppose this would be more of a moral question to as whether you can critique the system that protects you. This in its very essence is something that we are constantly protected in doing in our society. When you look at it this way does it not seem to be very disloyal to critique and then hide under the system you are at odds with?
ReplyDeleteI agree that it would be very contradictory for one to follow a law that they disrespect. One will not follow a law if they don't respect it. If one does not follow the law, it is showing complete disrespect to the law and its legal authority.
ReplyDeleteI think that the idea of someone following a law that they disrespect happens very often in our society, I know that many people disagree with and disrespect the newer anti-smoking laws in New York that ban smoking in bars and restaurants, but most people follow these laws because of the consequences for not.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is contradictory to criticize the legal system that protects us or to disagree with laws that we follow, but like Rob said, it happens very often. I doubt there is any person that is completely satisfied with our legal system. I definitely think an individual can disagree with legal authority sometimes but still have respect for it.
ReplyDeleteRob's example seems to me to be more of why people give the law a position of authority despite individual instances of disagreement. Most people do enjoy the protection law offers over anarchy. In addition, I also believe most people do agree with the vast majority of laws, and it is for this reason that they are able to overlook small issues with it.
ReplyDeleteLegal mediators are very important when it comes to the application of law. You can’t be punished for breaking a law that you didn’t know existed. Legal mediators are available to help the masses understand the law and to punish when a law is broken. That third party is so important. Legal mediators are beneficial to people that don’t understand the law. The main job of a legal mediator is to ensure that no one is able to say that I didn’t know or understand that this was a law, so I can’t be held accountable. We should respect the legal system because it the masses profit from having that structured legal system to adhere to.
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