Power and the Legal System Essay -- Law

gateway to the legal philosophy and legal organization is the ability to shape it, both in its meaning andunderstanding. While the factors that usually determine the power to shape law are not static, ingeneral, access to law has been held by limited groups of people the wealthy, males, whites,and religious authorities. In constructing the law, these specific groups have traditionally utilisetheir power to reinforce their dominant position and impede the ability of uneffective groups tofurther their interests. It is this position of advantage that allows the prevailing groups tomaintain a system of inequality fortified by the law that protects their prosperity while forcingthe deprived to appeal to problematic methods to promote their well-being as a vector sum oftheir lack of access.In his speech, Address to the Prisoners in hold County Jail, Clarence Darrow defineslaw as a creation of the rich, who, because of their wealth, own and control most of the propertyand institutio ns of gild (Darrow 229). The access that comes with their wealth then grantsthem the power to construct the law in a way that sustains their elite position. For Darrow, as aconsequence of this system of power, the unprivileged individuals are forced to seek out other,often criminal bureau of living in order to survive. He explains this by stating, The more that is taken from the miserable by the rich, who have the chance to take it, the more poor people there arewho are compelled to resort to these means for a livelihood (227). By wielding their power, therich have been able to consistently violate the ability of the poor to access legitimateopportunities, often leading them to move in activities such as robbery and burglary in orderto ob... ... for the complex body part of inequality to be destroyed, access to the law and the ability to shape it mustiness be given to all.Works CitedMLA CitationDarrow, Clarence. Address to the Prisoners in the Cook County Jail. Before the fa ithfulness AnIntroduction to the Legal Process. Ed. John J. Bonsignore., et. al. Boston HoughtonMifflin Company, 2006. pp. 225-232.Galanter, Marc. why the Haves Come Out Ahead Speculations on the Limits of LegalChange. Before the truth An Introduction to the Legal Process. Ed. John J.Bonsignore., et. al. Boston Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. pp. 81-89.Kropoktin, Peter. Law and Authority. Before the Law An Introduction to the Legal Process.Ed. John J. Bonsignore., et. al. Boston Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. pp. 158-167.MacKinnon, Katherine. A Rally Against Rape. flannel Plaza, Stanford University. 16 Nov.1981.