Comparing the Justinian Code to Contemporary Law
Assignment to hand in: Critical Thinking Questions for Legal Issues
Step 1: Introduction - Read the following overview of the lesson below:
When Justinian came to the throne in 527 C.E., he created a commission of lawyers to revise and codify the existing laws to both make them simpler to interpret and to increase the authority of his leadership. The Corpus Juris Civilis has four parts: the Code, which consists of 4,652 laws; the Digest, a 50-volume collection of decisions made by respected judges; the Institutes, a kind of textbook of legal procedures, and the Novels, which contain laws introduced by Justinian and his immediate successors. Justinian's new code extended the rights of women, children, and slaves, but also called for harsher penalties for crimes.
In the United States, although the Constitution is considered the highest law of the land, it provides no specific penalties for criminal activity. The Constitution lists the powers and duties of our leaders and guarantees the personal rights of each citizen. Consequently, each of the states in America is allowed to create its own statutes. Statutes regulate every human activity in which government has an interest and are printed in Codes. The present system of Codes in California was anticipated by the enactment in 1872 of the Civil Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Penal Code, and the Political Code. In 1929 the California Code Commission was created and charged with revising all of the state's laws. They completed their work in 1953 and now, as the California Law Revision Committee, continue to make annual recommendations in order to bring the law into harmony with modern conditions. Presently, in California, there are about 30 Codes. The one that deals with crimes and their punishments is called the Penal Code; the one that dals with wills and the administration of deceased persons' estates is called the Probate Code.
Step 2: Applying Justinian and California Legal Code: Download and print out the Student Handouts: Comparing Two Codes of Law & Critical Thinking Questions for Legal Issues. Look at the pictures below and read the corresponding text in the "Comparing Two Codes..." handout and apply both the Justinian Legal Code and the Californian Legal Code to each of the four scenarios. You will have to figure out how a Byzantine judge would have resolved the dilemna using Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis and how a modern judge would resolve the dilemna using California's Penal and Probate Codes. Record your answers on the Student Handout "Critical Thinking Questions for Legal Issues."
You have THREE options in formulating your answer:
1. Give unequivocal (full) support for one of the two codes.
2. Synthesize key aspects of both codes
3. Discredit both codes and develop an original idea.
Legal Scenario #1: Marriage
In this transparency we see a man asking a woman to marry him. Jim Nastics is the 23-year-old son of an unemployed magician; he travels the county fair carnival circuit as a knife-juggling, acrobatic clown. Wilma B. McBride, his girlfriend, comes from a wealthy family and is a 29-year-old fashion designer in the process of divorcing her first husband. While Jim's parents actively support their son's wigh to marry Wilma, Wilma's parents are very much against the idea. Indeed, Wilma's father told her that she is forbidden to marry Jim.
Legal Scenario #2: Assault
In this transparency we see two men fighting. Bert Enerny, a wealthy senator, was struck by Don Annout, a homeless person. Don was frustrated with the senator's refusal to support the president's homeless program. Don hoped to draw attention to the homeless problem by directly confronting the senator outside his office where a small crowd was assembled. After enduring a verbal barrage of obscenities from Don, Senator Enerny attempted to push past Don to get into his limousine. At this point, Don punched the Senator with a closed fist; the Senator responded by shoving Don to the ground. It took two police officers several minutes to separate the two men.
Legal Scenario #3: Robbery
In this transparency we see a photo of a man being robbed. Jose Canusey, a 30-year-old business executive, was robbed of his wallet, containing $150, as he was attempting to deposit his paycheck using his bank's automated teller machine. The robbery took place in broad daylight while the bank was still open for business. Luckily, the camera installed by the bank photographed the robbery as it was in progress, allowing the police to identify and later apprehend the suspect. The suspect, Rob Burr, is a 27-year-old drug addict who robbed Jose so he could buy crack cocaine.
Legal Scenario #4: Will
In this transparency we see a young man consulting a lawyer to determine if he can write a will. The young man, M.C. Pliers, is only 18 years old and has just had his first number one rap hit, "Don't Touch That." To date has made over $1,000,000. Unfortunately, he does not get along well with his parents because they never thought he was good enough to become a professional musician. However, he ignored his parents because he knew his talent was too legitamate for him to quit. Consequently, Pliers would like to make sure that if something should happen to him that his money would go to his favorite aunt, Ruth Banks. He has never made a will before and wonders what he needs to do to make one.
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