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This course analyzes “law in action”: how law works in the everyday lives of individuals and institutions by exploring the complex place of law and legal institutions in the United States. We will examine official legal institutions (such as courts and legislatures) and actors (including police, lawyers, judges) as well as the individuals whose lives are affected by law — those of us who come in contact with law as plaintiffs, witnesses, victims, or defendants. We will address the role that law plays in organizing contemporary life, including its influences on social and political interactions, how law constructs and responds to differences, and mediates, remedies, and reinforces unequal access to power.