A legislature is a collection of individuals elected as members of formal lawmaking bodies prescribed by national and state constitutions. Legislatures perform many functions, but arguably their most important task is to create and carry out laws.
In this course, students will examine how this process works as well as examine the conflicts legislatures must deal with amongst each other. Making laws requires making compromises in order to satisfy everyone involved.
Discretion is a key concept when legislative bodies begin the process of creating a law. Many individuals understand they cannot possibly understand the range of circumstances surrounding every crime that passes their desk. The process by which these individuals do their work ranges from informal to very formal and once the laws are made they are up for interpretation by administrative and law enforcement agencies.
Now administrative agencies play a larger role in decisions formerly limited to judicial and legislative processes. Discretionary decisions by administrators have the potential to result in discrimination. Similarly, law enforcement agencies are given authority to adapt to changing conditions. Given that not every situation can be predicted and processes are defined in advance, discretion is a necessary element in the U.S. justice system.