THE STUDY SOUGHT TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE CONCEPTUAL BASIS OF THE TWO VARIABLES, DIFFERENTIATION AND RIGIDITY, COULD BE EXTENDED TO THE ORGANIZATION OF JUSTICE SYSTEMS AS WELL AS THEY HAVE TO OTHER LEVELS OF SOCIAL LIFE; WHETHER THE MODEL CAN BE USED TO ORDER THE VAST ARRAY OF BEHAVIOR OCCURRING IN LEGAL INSTITUTIONS; AND WHETHER THE MODEL CAN PROVIDE PREDICTIONS AND EXPLANATIONS OF THE TYPE OF LEGAL PHENOMENA THAT CAN BE EXPECTED IN COUNTIES. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT DIFFERENTIATION WOULD PREDICT: EXPANSION OF COURT OFFICES, SPECIALIZED LAW FIRMS, CRIME RATES, RATIO OF LAWYERS, AND PROPORTION OF CASES APPEALED. IT WAS ALSO HYPOTHESIZED THAT FLEXIBILITY WOULD PREDICT: NUMBER OF REVERSALS ON APPEALS, NUMBER OF JURY TRIALS, NUMBER OF INNOVATIVE SENTENCES AND PROGRAMS FOR PRISONERS, ATTENTION TO THE PROBLEMS OF THE INDIGENT, AND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ELEMENTS OF THE SYSTEM. A DURKHEIMIAN MODEL WAS USED HERE WITH MODIFICATIONS PERMITTED BY MORE RECENT WORK IN SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND IN SEMIOLOGY. FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY ARE DISCUSSED FOR THE THEORY AND METHODS AS WELL AS FOR THE SUBSTANTIVE AREA.