It's Your Education, Make an Informed Choice.

Law is used to resolve and prevent a variety of disputes. The processes and methods for resolving disputes vary greatly. Some processes follow strict government guidelines while others conflict the law. For example, any dispute resolved with violence is normally in conflict with the law.

In this course, students will look at the role of courts as a means to resolve disputes. Courts differ from other forms of dispute processing, because everyone has the right to go to court -- they were created for the benefit of all citizens. However, access to justice is not always equal for everyone despite this.

Judicial resolution of disputes includes the collecting and interpretation of facts and the law is then applied to this unique set of facts. It is virtually impossible to create laws for every situation, therefore it is up to the courts to interpret the law and apply them as they see fit on a case by case basis. Judges are expected to govern using legal principles -- not by their personal or political views.