Melissa Hinton CJUS 2050 Units 1-4 300 Word Essay Law on books represents written laws that

society is meant to follow. As our textbook notes law on books provide an imperfect map of the day-to-day realities of the courthouse. This is normally where appellate courts lie. The law on books gives a punishment for a defendant guilty of violating the criminal law. This is where trial courts implement real world laws. The law in action for that sentence would be that the person in that crime would be punished with jail time, probation, or parole. If the conviction is appealed, according to the books, the lower courts ruling will be reviewed by a higher court. The law in action would tell you that of those appealing, only 6% win a significant victory. Law in action focuses on actually applying laws and enforcing sentences. The purpose of the law on books is to help us understand the legal foundations for our criminal justice system. The law in action perspective helps us to understand how discretionary decisions are made within the context of formal law. (David W. Neubauer, 2011) The laws on books element can be found in the constitution, regulations issued by governmental agencies, those sanctioned by legislative bodies, and in cases decided by courts. Whereas law in action focuses on the implementation of the laws. Legal actors such as prosecutors, judges, and police have the ability to put law in action. If a person comes to a stop sign and waits for 5 complete seconds in order to move, they would be practicing law on books and law in action. But we live in an imperfect world, so its unlikely that a person would actually wait 5 complete seconds at the stop sign. That is why law on books isnt always followed and laws in action are normally followed. If every person waited 5 seconds at a stop sign, the likelihood that the flow of traffic would be horrendous is likely. Another example would be in the Constitution of the United States. The Preamble the Constitution states that, all men are created equal. (http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/, n.d.) At the time the constitution was written it was understood that all white men were the ones referenced. Meaning they were the ones that could vote, own property, etc. If we took this text as literal translation today, then men would only be referenced. Luckily today we understand that the constitution is referring to men, women, and all races.

Works Cited
David W. Neubauer, H. F. (2011). America's Courts and the Criminal Justice System. Belmont: Wadsworth Centage.

References
David W. Neubauer, H. F. (2011). America's Courts and the Criminal Justice System. Belmont: Wadsworth Centage. http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/. (n.d.). Retrieved from ushistory.org.