Karen E. Hayden is professor and chair of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts. She teaches and writes about society and law, girls, women, and crime, images of rural people and places in popular culture, and rural crime.

Hayden (criminal justice, Merrimack College) has written a reader-friendly textbook for undergraduates in courses in sociology, criminology, criminal justice, and social justice. Intended to engage students on a personal level, the book is jam-packed with figures, black-and-white photos, cartoons, and other visuals. Especially helpful is the highlighting in bold of important key terms defined in an extensive glossary. Special features found in every chapter include summaries, critical thinking questions, and movie suggestions. Other pedagogical tools are "Case in Point" boxes that provide extended examples, "Legalese" boxes that define legal terms, and "Sidebar" boxes that explain legal concepts. Many examples and cases are related to Massachusetts. . . Hayden does a good job of overlaying topics of relevance to law and the legal system, including the rule of law, the organization of law, lawmaking, dispute processing, and the legal profession. The chapters on the legal constructions of gender and race are insightful. Though intended as textbook, the volume might find use as a secondary resource for those studying social justice.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates.

• List of Figures Preface1 Introduction Manifest Functions of Law Latent Functions of Law Dysfunctions of Law Law as a Social Construction Max Weber’s Sociological Approach to the Study of Law 1. The Moral Approach 2. The Jurisprudence Approach 3. The Sociological Approach Chapter Summary Key Terms Critical Thinking Questions Suggested Movie Discussion Questions for Kids for Cash 2 The Rule of Law and Major Legal SystemsThe Rule of Law Criteria for the Rule of Law The Rule of Law in the United States Typologies of Law Weber’s Three Features Major Legal Systems Romano-Germanic System, or Civil Law Common Law Systems Socialist Legal Systems Islamic Legal Systems Functions of Law Social Control Dispute Resolution Social Change Chapter Summary Key TermsCritical Thinking Questions Suggested Movie Discussion Questions for the Corporation3 Modernization and Theoretical Perspectives on Society and Law The Evolution of Legal Systems Modernization and the Expansion of Law Traditional Legal Systems Transitional Legal Systems Modern Legal Systems Theories of Law and Society Early European Scholars of LawClassical Sociological Theories of Society and Law: Durkheim, Marx, and Weber Sociolegal Theorists Basic Tenets of Legal Realism Current Theories of Society and Law Critical Legal Studies (CLS) Feminist Legal Theory Critical Race Theory (CRT) Intersectional Approaches to Society and Law Chapter Summary Key Terms Critical Thinking Questions Suggested Movie Discussion Questions for Little Injustices: Laura Nader Looks at the Law 4 The Organization of Law The Courts Dispute Categories Organization of the Courts Participants in Court Processes Litigation in the Court Systems Civil Cases Criminal Cases Legislatures Administrative Agencies The Administrative Process Law Enforcement Agencies Chapter Summary Key Terms Critical Thinking Questions Suggested Movie Discussion Questions for Runaway Jury 5 Lawmaking and the Social Construction of Laws Social Constructionist Approach to Lawmaking Legislation The Instigation and Publicizing StageInformation-Gathering StageFormulation Stage Interest Aggregation Stage Mobilization Stage Modification Administrative Rulemaking/Lawmaking The Administrative Process Judicial Lawmaking Lawmaking by Precedents The Interpretation of StatutesThe Interpretation of Constitutions Influences on Lawmaking Processes Summary Key Terms Critical Thinking Questions Suggested Movie Discussion Questions for Food, Inc. 6 Law and Social Control Social Control: Why do Most People Behave Most of the Time? Internalization of Norms Control through External Pressures: Sanctions Informal Social Control Formal Social Control Criminal Sanctions Why We Punish Does the Threat of Death Deter Criminals? Who is Punished? Disproportionate Minority Sentencing Who is Not Punished Proportionately? White-Collar Crime Administrative Law and Social Control Licensing Inspection Threat of Publicity Summary Key Terms Critical Thinking Questions Suggested Movie Discussion Questions for The Thin Blue Line 7 Law and Dispute Processing Private Wrongs and Public Outcries Stages of Dispute Processing Methods of Dispute Resolution Primary Resolution Processes Negotiation Mediation Arbitration Forced or Mandatory Arbitration Adjudication/Litigation Hybrid or Combined Forms of Resolution ProcessesCollaborative Law Settlement CounselPartnering Rent-A-Judge Mediation-Arbitration or Med-Arb“Mini-Trial” Who Can Sue? Justiciability and Standing Types of Private Wrongs Intentional Acts NegligenceStrict LiabilityProperty Disputes Contract DisputesFamily DisputesSummary Key Terms Critical Thinking Questions Suggested Movie Discussion Questions for the film, Hot Coffee 8 Law and Social Change Law and Social Change Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) Friedrich Karl von Savigny (1779–1861) Social Changes as Causes of Changes in Law New Technologies as Catalysts for Change Revenge Porn or Nonconsensual Pornography Texting While Driving Law as an Instrument of Social Change Case In Point: Same-Sex Marriage Laws and LawsAttempting to Block Same-Sex Marriage The Advantages of Law as an Instrument of Social Change The Limits of Law in Creating Social ChangeSummary Key Terms Critical Thinking Questions Suggested Movie Discussion Questions for RBG9 Gate-Keeping and the Law: The Legal Profession The Practice of Law: A Brief History The Evolution of the Legal Profession and the Professionalization of Lawyers in the United States Legal Education: The Growth of Law Schools in the United States The Current Picture for Law Schools in the United States The American Bar Association The Legal Profession Today Stratification within the Legal Profession Stratified Law Schools Stratified Law Practices Big Law Small Law or Private Practice Government Lawyers Advocacy Law/Nonprofit Law/Public Interest Law Diversity in Practice? Law and DiversityCrashing the Gate: Deprofessionalization and the Practice of Law SummaryKey Terms Critical Thinking Questions Suggested Movie Discussion Questions For A Civil Action10 Gender, Inequality, and Law Law at the Intersections: IntersectionalityFeminist Legal Scholarship/Feminist Jurisprudence The Social Construction of Gender The Separate Spheres Ideology Legal Constructions of Gender Early America: Women, Law, and the Colonial Era, 1630–1763 The Revolutionary to Post-Revolutionary Period, 1763–1815 The Civil War and the Period of Reconstruction, 1861–1877 The Progressive Era and First Wave Feminism, 1890–1920 Second-Wave Feminism, 1960s to 1980s Feminist Jurisprudence: Sameness, Difference, or Both?Third-Wave Feminism, 1990s to 2000s Fourth-Wave Feminism? #Metoo Summary Key Terms Critical Thinking Questions Suggested Movie Discussion Questions for the Film North Country 11 Race, Inequality, and Law Critical Race Theory The Social Construction of Race Legal Constructions of Race Racial Prerequisite Cases: Race and Citizenship The Naturalization Act of 1790 In re Ah Yup, 1878 Ex parte Shahid, 1913 Ozawa v. United States, 1922 The End of Racial PrerequisitesRace and Marriage: Anti-Miscegenation Law in the Twentieth Century Kirby v. Kirby, 1922The Estate of Monks, 1941 Loving v. Virginia, 1967 Law And Social Change Revisited Executive Order 13769: The Travel Ban Summary Key Terms Critical Thinking Questions Suggested Movie Discussion Questions for The Loving Story GlossaryReferences Index