Term
| Contrast natural law from the revealed law of God and the codified laws of man. |
|
Definition
| Natural law investigates the sense of right+wrong+of mutual obligation that is "natural" to mankind as distinguished from the revealed law of God or the codified laws of man. |
|
|
Term
| What change did the European Enlightenment bring that also brought an end to the hegemony of monarchs? |
|
Definition
| The enlightenment marks the beginning of a lost hegemony, the end of despotic rule in Europe and the beginning of the American Revolution, French Revolution, and much later the Russian Revolution. |
|
|
Term
| What is the difference between finite principles and transcendent principles? Give examples of both kinds of principles. |
|
Definition
| Finite principles are civil rights. Rights that exist only by the establishment of laws to guarantee those rights are not fundamental rights. The right to vote is finite. Transcendent principles are fundamental rights. Fundamental rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which everyone is guaranteed. |
|
|
Term
| There are 14 indictments against the king for usurpations and oppression listed in the course text. List 5 of the 14 indictments. |
|
Definition
1. Extortion through refusal to pass other laws unless the people would relinquish their rights.
2. Obstructing natural laws.
3. Keeping a standing army, subjecting the people to martial rather than civil law.
4. Failing to protect them and for waging war against them.
5. Being a tyrant there by depriving the people of their basic liberties. |
|
|
Term
| Name three philosophers who influenced the construction of our U.S. Constitution. Describe the influence from each person. |
|
Definition
1. Jean Jacques Rousseau believed that personal self-interest would be a sufficient energy for a social contact.
2. John Locke believed that in order to have a civil society individuals would have to give up their executive powers to a public government of the people.
3. Thomas Hobbes believed that humankind was not capable of a republic and would need an absolute power to govern society. |
|
|
Term
| The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution lists the resolutions of those who framed it. Name three of the five constituent parts and describe what they mean. |
|
Definition
1. In order to form a more perfect union (more perfect than the articles of confederation)
2. In order to establish Justice (equality of all before the law)
3. In order to insure domestic Tranquility (protection of a war of all-against-all) |
|
|
Term
| Name three fundamental (unalienable) rights from the Declaration of Independence. What makes these rights fundamental to everyone on the planet? |
|
Definition
| Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness. |
|
|
Term
| Immanuel Kant and Ancient Rome divided the powers of the state into potestas legislatoria, rectoria, et judiciaria. What is the English equivalent of powers that were adopted by the United States? |
|
Definition
| Legislative, Executive, Judiciary. |
|
|
Term
| In the Federalist Paper No. 47, James Madison described why the three powers of the government could not be controlled by the same person. Write down what he said. |
|
Definition
| "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary in the same hands, whether of one, a few or many and whether hereditary self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." |
|
|
Term
| Three principles provide us with the grounding of the U.S. Constitution. Name the three principles. |
|
Definition
1. Separation of Powers
2. Citizens rights
3. Federalism |
|
|
Term
| Name one provision of the 1st Amendment (see Bill of Rights). |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Name one provision of the 4th Amendment (see Bill of Rights). |
|
Definition
| The right to be protected against unreasonable search and seizure. |
|
|
Term
| In which Amendments of the U.S. Constitution do we find “without due process of law?” |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| In which Amendment of the U.S. Constitution are we guaranteed the private property will not be taken for public use without just compensation? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| In which Amendment of the U.S. Constitution are we promised equal protection under the law? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| In which Amendments of the U.S. Constitution are citizens given the right to vote? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| In which Amendment of the U.S. Constitution do we find the right against unreasonable searches and seizures? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What area of Civil law does the Uniform Commercial Code govern? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Define felony as it appears in the course text. |
|
Definition
| A felony is a crime so serious it may be punishable by death or by imprisonment in a state or federal penitentiary. |
|
|
Term
| Define criminal action as it appears in the course text (list the four elements in your definition). |
|
Definition
1. Actus reus- is a connection between an action and a crime, or in other words a guilty act.
2. Mens rea- has to do with the persons state of mind. To be guilty the accused must have wrongful purpose in mind a criminal intent, or a guilty mind.
3. Causation- the accused must have cause the act. It infers that but for the actions of the accused, the victim would not have been harmed.
4. Standard of proof- in a criminal action it's beyond reasonable doubt. Conversely, in a civil trial the standard is the preponderance of the evidence. |
|
|
Term
| Discuss the common cause of litigation for Property rights. Include in your answer how nuisance, trespass, conversion, breach of contract, and breach of warranty affect property rights. |
|
Definition
| Property rights is where a person has the right to unrestricted enjoyment and use of both real and personal property. If there has been annoyance, inconvenience, discomfort, or injury, which has caused the loss of quiet enjoyment, then there is a nuisance. If there has been unauthorized access onto land or into a building, then trespass has been committed. If there has been interference with the right to personal property, the person doing it is converting the property to her own (but authorized) use; the person is guilty of conversion. Contractual and business relationships are forms of property. If there has been an interference with contractual relationships, there may have been breach of contact or breach of warranty. |
|
|
