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Tue 8 Mar, 2005 11:08 pm
I'm sitting down to write my case and have no idea about which direction I would like to go and my coach is cracking down and wants cases by tomorrow for a tournament two weeks from now. Does any body have any ideas? Can Anybody define National and community standards?
Determine what they are, or just define the meaning of "community standards"?
Ideally, national and community standards should grow out of the cooperation of the individuals continously. Utopian.
Not that this helps you much, but "National and Community Standards" in practical effect essentially are subject to the situational discretion of any concerned authorized court or individual jurist duly charged with interpreting same, with the additional complication that any resulting decision is subject to appellate process, which itself may be influenced or directed by relevant prior or subsequent legislative process, which in turn can be subject to subsequent constitutional ammendment process. A good example would be Prohibition in the early 20th Century; all the foregoing came into play - repeatedly - through a period encompassing some 3 decades.
Good, Timber. Perhaps in addition to the legal picture you've given there is also the cultural picture. Many of the society's dominant mores, taboos and norms reflect the will of the most powerful and generally find their way into the statues of the nation. But there are always the underground norms, the values of minority communities and counter-cultures to consider. In primitive, relatively homogenous, "tribal" societies it is easier to talk of community standards non-problematically. But in all complex relatively heterogenous societies, the situation is very complex because of their plural nature. Those norms that find their way into law are generally those that are essential for any society to function, or, I repeat, those which reflect the will and interests of the more powerful classes.
About the "community standards" and "national standards", determining what they are would probably help to actually define them as well. And thank you for responding to my post.