preliminary study of American legal culture

周楊

【Abstract】This thesis is a preliminary study of American legal culture. Nowadays more and more scholars see the importance of legal culture and do studies on it. The author selects a number of American legal TV plays and movies； analyzes their topics， main characters， and plots； then finds out why United States adopt the legal system； what kind of legal culture it has； and how the legal culture is reflected in those movies and TV plays. The author hopes this thesis can work not only as an insight into the American legal culture， but also a source of reference for china to improve its legal system.

【Key words】legal movies； legal system； legal culture

1. American legal culture

1.1 Definition of legal culture

Legal culture is one way of describing relatively stable patterns of legally oriented social behavior and attitudes. The identifying elements of legal culture range from facts about institutions such as the number and role of lawyers or the ways judges are appointed and controlled， to various forms of behavior such as litigation or prison rates， and， at the other extreme， more nebulous aspects of ideas， values， aspirations and mentalities.

The author thinks that law is a cultural phenomenon as well as a social phenomenon. Legal culture is the product of the inter play of certain social conditions， with social material life being its economic foundation， social political structure being its political foundation and the whole social culture providing it with cultural environment. Legal culture has the characteristics of historical continuity， collectivity and mutual compatibility. Historical continuity means that a certain type of legal culture must have inherited from its formal basis. Collectivity means that a certain type of legal culture must be accepted by most people rather than single ones. Mutual compatibility means that different legal cultures learn from each other and have lots in common.

1.2 Formation of American legal culture

Firstly， American legal culture is based on the material foundation of American society. Different countries different legal cultures are based on their different material foundations. The superstructure of one society is formed on basis of the economic foundation. Take ancient china as an example， the common people didnt have the ownership of their property， and the emperor owns it. Accordingly the law made by the emperor was based on his own benefit. No democracy existed at that period. America was once a colony of the United Kingdom， so it reached a high level of developed capitalism without experiencing a feudal period. Privatization and capitalization became the main economic trends of America， which was reflected in the legal system. The laws of United States are reflection and protection of the interests of the capitalist class. For example， in the end of the 19th century， the worlds first antitrust law was promulgated in America in order to protect the national economy.

Secondly， American legal culture is reflected on the political structure of society： In America， the political structure is called two-tier system. It is a system of decentralization， which is reflected in the constitution that “checks and balances” should be achieved to a more functional and democratic government. This is how political structure determines legal culture.

Thirdly， American legal culture itself is one composition of the culture of American society； it is formed under the influence of the changing conventions and values. Like culture itself， legal culture is not just about what we do but about who we are. In countries with unwritten constitution， those conventions and customs become the only principles that can be applied when making judgment. Those conventions and customs are part of the culture of a country. In America， there is a written constitution. The articles in the constitution are also reflection of peoples criteria of value.

2. Relationship between American legal culture and American legal movies & TV plays

Lawyer is often the main character in most legal movies and TV plays， such as the movie To Kill a Mocking Bird. In America， the profession of lawyer is different from china. Firstly， lawyers in America can be divided into public lawyers and private lawyers. Pubic lawyers work for the court and government； and the private lawyers can open their own law offices and deal with all kinds of cases. Secondly， lawyers are more important in the legal procedure in America than in other countries. For one reason， the Supreme Court of United States stipulates that in any criminal case， the suspected person must be sentenced with one lawyer working as his or her legal representative. For another reason， American people are more willing to employ a lawyer to deal with disputes in daily life. From small quarrels between neighbors， divorce， writing wills， to big financial problems， criminal cases； American people are used to have their own lawyers to solve their problems， thus lawyers become more and more popular and essential in American peoples life.