The legal system we abide by has generally served its purpose by providing order and justice in most situations requiring legal obedience. However, under the assumption of producing social change, the system has not proven to bring about changes in society. Perhaps the justification for this is explained by Clarence Darrow who argues that the law applies to and favors specific types of social classes. Robert Cover addresses how judges' punishments can defeat their purpose. Karla Fischer and her colleagues, along with Jackie Campbell's “Walking the Beat Alone,” show how law aims to serve society, but does not provide social change and actually hinders its progress. The film Eyes on the Prize portrayed the efforts of African Americans in disobeying the law to make a statement. Finally, Tom Tyler's article, Why People Obey the Law, discusses laws that people don't obey simply because it is a law. The role of the legal system is believed to bring about social change, however, the system is structured to favor certain groups of people and in many cases, statutes and legal decisions have thwarted their intentions and have failed to create change in society. In Clarence Darrow's Speech to Prisoners in Cook County Jail, he discusses the reasons for people's lives, prison, and crime. Darrow believes that people are in prison because they are poor (Darrow 227). He thinks the legal system favors those who have wealth (Darrow 229). If there were fewer poor people, there would be less crime. If it were easier for people to obtain wealth, there would be less crime. The legal system is structured in such a way that those who have no money are unable to obey the law. He does not believe that our system provides justice, but more or less merely provides pro...... middle of paper ......in, 2006. Print.Cover, Robert. "The violence of legal acts". Before the Law. 8th. Boston, MA: HoughtonMifflin, 2006. Print.Darrow, Clarence. “Speech to Prisoners in Cook County Jail.” Before the Law. 8.Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print.Fischer, Karla, Neil Vidmar, and Rene Ellis. "The culture of abuse and the role of mediation in cases of domestic violence". Before the Law. 8th. Boston, MA: HoughtonMifflin, 2006. PrintMcCann, Michael.” Law and social movements". In The Blackwell Companion to Law and Society, ed. Austin Sarat, Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. 2004.Tyler, Tom. “Because people obey the law.” In Law & Society: Readings on the social study of law, 474-496. New York: WW Norton & Co.FILM: Eyes on the Prize. Henry Hampton. PBS. 1990