Vol. 5 No. 2 (February, 1995) pp. 75-78

SPECIAL ISSUE, JUDICIAL PROCESS TEXTS
Michael W. McCann, Editor

LAW AND SOCIETY, (Fourth Edition) by Steven Vago. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1994. 339 pp. Cloth $45.00.

Reviewed by Helena Silverstein, Department of Government and Law, Lafayette College.

For a sociological exploration of the law, one may turn to Steven Vago's LAW AND SOCIETY. Vago offers a straightforward and readable book on law that is distinct in its approach and coverage from standard judicial politics texts. This distinctiveness makes the text less suitable for judicial processes courses. However, for faculty interested in teaching introductory law courses from a sociological perspective, this text is quite appropriate.

At the outset, Vago indicates the intention and approach of his work: "The principal mission of this book is to serve as a text in undergraduate courses on law and society... [N]o one particular approach to law and society has been taken, nor a particular ideology or theoretical stance embraced... Thus, the book does not propound a single thesis; instead, it attempts to expose the reader to a variety of sociological methods and theoretical perspectives used to explain the interplay between law and society in the social science literature," (pp. 1-2).

Throughout, Vago remains committed to his stated aim. The introductory chapter provides a brief overview of some theoretical analyses that seek to define the law, its functions, and its dysfunctions. Chapter two offers a more detailed examination of theoretical perspectives. After presenting Jonathan Turner's typology of the development of legal systems from primitive to modern systems, Vago turns his attention to various theories of law and society. In chronological order, Vago reviews the works of Montesquieu, Spencer, Sumner, Maine, Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Dicey, Holmes, Hoebel, Black, and Unger. He also presents some current trends in law and society, describing functionalism, Marxist and conflict theories, the Critical Legal Studies Movement, and feminist legal theory.

Chapters three and four examine the organization of law and the processes of lawmaking and are less oriented towards theory. Chapter three offers an overview of the structure and participants of the judicial and legislative systems of the United States. It also presents an exploration of administrative and law enforcement agencies. Chapter four begins with a theoretical discussion of lawmaking and proceeds to a delineation of legislative, administrative, and judicial lawmaking. The discussion then turns to an exploration of the influences interest groups, public opinion, and the social sciences have on lawmaking. Vago concludes the chapter with a review of several sources that can act as an impetus for creation of law. Here the author explores scholarly analyses, the writings of people outside of academia (e.g. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring), protest activity, social movements, public-interest groups, and the mass media.

Chapters five through eight comprise the center of Vago's work, and the primary reason for using the text. In these chapters, entitled Law and Social Control, Law as a Method of Conflict Resolution, Law and

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Social Change, and The Profession and Practice of Law, Vago elaborates much of the recent work done in the field of law and society.

In chapter five, after defining the informal and formal mechanisms of social control, Vago explores some of the legal methods of social control. He begins with criminal sanctions in general before moving to a review of the death penalty, civil commitment, white collar crime, the social control of dissent, and administrative methods of control, such as licensing and inspection. The author also examines crimes without victims, using the cases of drug addiction, prostitution, and gambling to illustrate the way law is used to control what society defines as immoral behavior.

In chapter six, Vago delves into the various methods of conflict resolution and the role the courts play in the process. Within this discussion, Vago makes note of the litigation explosion. He then uses the work of Marc Galanter to outline a typology of litigants and to review disputes between different types of litigants. This review points to some interesting and illustrative examples, such as legal conflicts between faculty members and universities, and the activities of public interest law firms involved in environmental disputes.

Chapter seven examines the influence social change has on the law and the law's influence on social change. In examining the former, Vago briefly probes the impact social, economic, and technological transformation can have on the law. The bulk of the chapter emphasizes law as an instrument of change and reviews some of the benefits and drawbacks of this tool. On the positive side, Vago points to the respect for the legitimate authority of the law, using Weber's typology. He further notes the binding force of law which compels obedience and obligation, and the sanctions for disobeying the law. On the downside, Vago stresses the Weberian argument that the legal instrument is limited by conflicting interests and, more specifically, by the fact that certain interests and powers will be able to use law to their advantage while others with less power will not. The author also describes social, psychological, cultural, and economic factors that lead people to resist change and limit the efficacy of the law.

The profession and practical activity of law, and specifically lawyers, are the focus of chapter eight. Vago begins by sketching the professionalization of lawyers and overviewing the development of the profession. He continues by describing the various settings in which lawyers practice their profession, the influence money has on lawyers, the effect of competition on the profession, and the legal services provided by lawyers to the needy. The chapter also examines the professional training of lawyers by discussing legal education and the socialization of lawyers. Vago closes the chapter with a review of the bar and the discipline of lawyers through the code of ethics.

The text concludes with a chapter entitled Researching Law in Society. This helpful chapter surveys various research methods employed by sociologists who study the law. Historical, observational, experimental, and survey methods are explained, and the author then discusses the contributions sociological research has made

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to policy. The chapter and the book conclude with a discussion of the involvement sociologists have had with evaluation research and impact studies.

The above overview should make it clear that this text is sociological and cultural in its approach. The emphasis does not rest on institutions, although legal institutions are examined by the author. Moreover, the approach tends to be general; that is, much of the work deals with law as it exists in society, as it influences and is shaped by society. However, this general analysis emphasizes law in modern society. It also significantly concentrates on the U.S. legal system. The analysis of the organization of law, lawmaking, the legal profession, and most of the examples describing how law is used for social control, conflict resolution, and social change are based on law in U.S. society. There is, to be sure, some cross-cultural analysis. The author, for instance, compares the lawyer-population ratio of several countries and describes the social control of dissent through surveillance and suppression of speech in Islamic, African, and Asian countries. More cross-cultural analysis would have strengthened the work but, despite the slant towards modern and U.S. society, the thrust of the text is theoretically oriented towards law and society in general.

The major weakness of the book is something characteristic of most introductory textbooks: the emphasis is on breadth rather than depth. Vago does a fine job covering a wide range of topics and he offers the unfamiliar undergraduate student a quality survey of the interplay between law and society. However, due to its breadth, the exploration of this interplay often lacks depth. For instance, the discussion of theoretical perspectives peruses many views, but the perspectives of Marx, Durkheim, Holmes, and Unger are condensed to about one page each. For this reason, professors may wish to consider supplementing the text with additional readings. Most helpful would be primary sources of some of the theorists Vago covers, and some scholarship and legal cases that would illustrate lawmaking and the relationships between law and social control, conflict resolution, and social change.

Another drawback of the work is that it could have done more to carry the theoretical perspectives elaborated in chapter two through the remainder of the text. Vago does, to some degree, recall and return to those perspectives at particular points of his discussion. However, given the theoretical bent of the work, those perspectives could have provided more guidance and a more explicit foundation for the concrete explorations of law and society.

Despite these weaknesses, LAW AND SOCIETY is a strong text. The work is well-organized and schematically coherent. The writing is readable, clear, and deliberate in style. Vago continually reminds the reader what he has in mind, where the discussion is going, and what he intends to examine. There are only a few charts and tables, but the clarity of the prose makes up for this deficiency. At the end of each chapter, the book usefully points readers to further relevant readings.

LAW AND SOCIETY is a fitting text for professors teaching introductory law and society classes, especially for those who teach in sociology departments and for those outside

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of sociology who wish to de-emphasize institutional analyses and judicial processes. While the text is not as suitable for judicial politics and processes courses, it may be useful as a supplementary text for such courses, although its high price may make this a less attractive option. For law and politics courses, the text is worthy of consideration, but professors should be aware that the interplay between politics and law is not as highlighted or explicit as it might be. Those considering the text should also be aware of what the text downplays. The institutions of the courts, juries, and law enforcement agencies are not given much attention. In addition, there is little emphasis on the constitution and legal rights.

For what it sets out to do and what it succeeds in doing, LAW AND SOCIETY is worthy of consideration. Its distinctive approach sets the book apart from many judicial politics texts. While this means that not all judicial politics courses would be best served by this text, those courses that do aim at exploring the interplay between law and society may find value in this text.