Steven Vago - Law and Society

Law and Society provides a balanced and comprehensive analysis of the interplay between law and society using both Canadian and international examples. This clear and readable text is filled with interesting information, ideas, and insights. All materials and supporting statistics have been carefully updated. This edition includes an expanded discussion of the law and First Nations people, recent developments impacting LGBTIQ2S persons and persons with disabilities, and a new section on civil procedures. Each chapter is structured similarly, with an outline, learning objectives, key terms, chapter summaries, critical thinking questions, and an array of additional resources.

Steven Vago earned two Ph.D.s: one in Sociology and one in Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis. During graduate school he was an integral part of the creation of an alcohol treatment program at Malcolm Bliss Hospital in St. Louis. He became part of the Department of Sociology at St. Louis University after finishing his graduate studies and was a full professor there by the age of 37. Thereafter, he chaired the Department of Sociology several times, teaching at St. Louis University for over 30 years. During the 1970s, he was asked by the United Nations to work for its member agency UNESCO and worked in Paris for several years in their Office of Population and Demography. At the end of his teaching career in 2001, he retired to Bellingham, Washington with his wife. He passed away in 2010, at the age of 73.

Adie Nelson received her Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo. Her areas of specialization are victimology, criminology, and the sociology of deviance.

Veronica Nelson received her J.D. from the University of Ottawa and is currently pursuing a LL.M. at Queens University. Her areas of special interest are tort law, environmental law, and constitutional law.

Steven E. Barkan is Professor of Sociology at the University of Maine, where he has taught since 1979. His teaching and research interests include criminology, sociology of law, and social movements.

Nelsons text provides an indispensable bridge between critical legal perspectives and formal law, offering along the way a rich interdisciplinary foundation for the study of law and society. Readers of this updated Canadian edition will especially benefit from an expanded focus on Aboriginal peoples.

Susan Dianne Brophy, Assistant Professor, St. Jeromes University, University of Waterloo

Fifth Canadian Edition

Fifth edition published 2018

by Routledge

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The right of Steven Vago, Adie Nelson, Veronica Nelson, and Steven E. Barkan to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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First edition published by Prentice Hall 2002
Fourth edition published by Routledge 2011

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Vago, Steven, author. | Nelson, Adie, 1958 author. | Nelson, Veronica, author. | Barkan, Steven E., 1951 author.

Title: Law and society / Steven Vago, Adie Nelson, Veronica Nelson, and Steven Barkan

Description: Fifth Canadian edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017016699 | ISBN 9781138215917 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781138215818 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315443126

Subjects: LCSH: Sociological jurisprudence. | LawSocial aspectsCanada.

Classification: LCC K370 .V33 2017b | DDC 340/.115dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017016699

ISBN: 978-1-138-21591-7 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-21581-8 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-44312-6 (ebk)

Typeset in Avenir, Bell and Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC

Visit the eResource: www.routledge.com/9781138215818

The objective of this text is to serve as an undergraduate text in courses on law and society. Although the text was written primarily for university and college students, anyone with an interest in law and society will find it useful, informative, and provocative. The classroom-tested and -refined material has been organized and presented in a logical fashion, and each chapter builds on the previous one. Should one prefer a different organization of the contents, it would not detract from the value of the book. For example, if one desires, , Theoretical Perspectives.

In preparing the fifth Canadian edition of this text, we have built on the solid foundation established by the late Steven Vago (1937-2010). As in all editions, we have sought to create a text that is pedagogically sound and distinctive in its coverage of the subject. Wherever possible, we have emphasized clarity of language at the expense of professional jargon.

Knowledge about law and society has accumulated haphazardly. Intellectual developments in the field are influenced by a number of theoretical perspectives, resulting in a variety of strains of thought and research. Because the book has been written primarily for the undergraduate student, we opted for an eclectic approach to the often controversial subject matter without embracing or advocating a particular position, ideology, or theoretical stance. Thus, the book does not propound a single thesis or position; instead, it exposes the reader to the dominant theoretical perspectives and sociological methods used to explain the interplay between law and society in the social science literature.

In writing this new edition, we recognize that it may well be the case that more questions will be raised than answered. However, it is the abundance of unanswered questions and unexpected developments that keeps the study of law and society challenging and endlessly intriguing.

As we approach the third decade of the 21st century, law increasingly permeates all forms of social behavior. In subtleand, at times, not-so-subtleways, law governs our entire existence and our every action. Law determines registration at birth and the distribution of possessions at death. It regulates prenuptial agreements, intimate relationships, pet ownership, hanging laundry outdoors to dry, and the conduct of professors and students in the classroom. It governs family and workplace relationships. Laws regulate the speed limit and the length of school attendance. Laws control what we eat and where; what we buy and when; how we use our computers; and what we can see in movie theatres, on television, or on the Internet. Laws protect ownership and define the boundaries of private and public property. Laws regulate business, raise revenue, and provide for redress when agreements are broken. Laws protect the prevailing legal and political systems by defining power relationships, thus establishing who is superordinate and who is subordinate in any given situation. Laws maintain the status quo and provide the impetus for change. Finally, laws, in particular criminal laws, not only protect private and public interests but also preserve order. There is no end to the ways in which the law has a momentous effect upon our lives.