The Role and Function of Law According to Melvin (2011), law is a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and legal binding force. Law also provides a mechanism to resolve disputes and allows parties to enforce order and judgment in a court of law. The most important functions of the law are to protect, install order, fairness, and it also identifies and punishes violators.
The United States, a democratic nation, realizes the significance of law enforcement in the daily activities of citizens and businesses within its borders. Enforcing these laws are paramount as well as levying penalties to individuals who break them. This exercise produces fairness, and enhances orderliness. In the absence of law enforcement there would be chaos, and confusion.
The law can be divided into several categories for effective enforcement. These laws include: Constitutional law, Common law, Statutory law, and Administrative law, just to name a few. The Constitutional law exists both on a federal and state level; it sets the premise for other laws in the nation.
The Constitutional law is the supreme law of the land, among other things, the Constitution protects United States citizens from wrongful government actions (Melvin, 2011). For example the Fourth Amendment protects individuals against unreasonable searches and confiscations of properties. The common law, this law is made by the legislature, and the courts based on fundamentals of previous cases with similar facts (Melvin, 2011). These specific standards are set for other courts to follow when there is similar dispute. For example, decisions made by the courts based upon common law are binding only in a particular jurisdiction.
The statutory law is created by the legislature as well. It can be approved or disapproved by the executive branch of government. At the state level it covers