Term
| 3 Branches of Federal & State Government |
|
Definition
| Legislative, Judicial, & Executive |
|
|
Term
| Judicial branch produces... |
|
Definition
| Common law, case law, and judge-made law |
|
|
Term
| Is developed case-by-case from Court decisions? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Legislative branch (elected representatives) |
|
|
Term
| Promulgates administrative rules & regulations? |
|
Definition
| Administrative agencies (considered part of the executive branch) |
|
|
Term
| Issues proclamations & executive orders? |
|
Definition
| Chief executive (president or governor) |
|
|
Term
| Federal & State laws are product of interplay among 3 branches of government. |
|
Definition
Legislature - passes laws, supersedes common law.
Judicial - interprets, applys constitutions, statutes, & administrative regulations.
Chief executive - veto legislations, sets priorities in law enforcement, appoints judges. |
|
|
Term
| Makes US Constitution supreme law of land? |
|
Definition
Supremacy Clause
(No federal or State Constitutions can conflict with it.) |
|
|
Term
Primary sources...
Secondary sources... |
|
Definition
contains the law itself.
are finding tools to locate relevant primary sources. |
|
|
Term
| Computer assisted legal research includes... |
|
Definition
| online services, services contained on CD-ROM, & Internet. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Case law or case law that it made by judges in the absence of statutes. Originated in England. Composed of case law & statutes that grow and change. Influenced by changing customs & traditions. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Handed down from Romans. Based on one large "Code" rather than combination of many laws & judicial opinions. Non-criminal law. |
|
|
Term
Jurisprudence constante
(Civil law) |
|
Definition
| Code must be reviewed to find appropriate code provision & provision must be applied to sole legal problem. Judges rely on scholarly articles & books rather than prior case law. Prior case law is not binding but can be reviewed. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sets out basic principles & general laws of a country, state, or organization. US Constitution is basic law of the country; most all laws are based and all other laws must yield to. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Political organization with different levels of government (e.g. city, state, national) co-existing in same area. Lower levels have some interdependent powers. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| foreclosed, prevailed over, took precedent over |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| First right to do anything. e.g. federal government preempts the field by passing laws in a subject area, states can not pass conflicting laws or sometimes laws on particular subject. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Article VI provision of Constitution; US Constitution, laws & treaties take precedent over conflicting state constitutions or laws. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| organizations basic starting document |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| local or city law, rule or regulation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| law making; concerning the legislature. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Court; Judge; interprets the law & resolves legal disputes. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Set up by the government; carries out laws. (e.g. Police Dept = local admin agency; IRS = national admin agency) |
|
|
Term
| Doctrine of Judicial Review |
|
Definition
| principle that higher court examines lower court decisions. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| head of executive branch (e.g. state-governor; federal-president) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| fist step in removal from public office of a high official. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| rules, regulations, & orders written by administrative agencies. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Contains law itself; given most weight in court (e.g. cases, constitutions, statutes, admin regulations, municipal codes & ordinances, court rules) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| explains legal concepts; can be used to understand basic legal terms, general concepts. Provides researcher with background info & framework of an area of law; arranges legal principles in orderly fashion; does not have force or effect of law. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| used to locate primary & secondary authority |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| (Citation) refer to specific legal reference |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| US Supreme Court held Texas statute making abortion illegal was unconstitutional but the state could regulate abortions in the 2nd trimester & prohibit it in 3rd trimester. |
|
|
Term
| Gives case law predictability while allowing gradual change? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| 2 sides to every problem & attorneys represent client's best interests by.. |
|
Definition
| arguing authority favorable to client's case & unfavorable authority is distinguishable. |
|
|
Term
| 6 types of court decision opinions? |
|
Definition
| majority, plurality, concurring, dissenting, per curiam, en banc |
|
|
Term
| To interpret statutes a legal researcher may consider? |
|
Definition
| legislative intent, plain meaning of language, immediate statutory context, strict construction of language, and legislative history |
|
|
Term
| Methods of US Constitution interpreting? |
|
Definition
| originalism, modernism, literalism, democratic or representation reinforcement |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
1. reading & synthesizing all relevant authority to extract rule of law.
2. applying he rule of law to the facts of the problem.
3. reaching a conclusion. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| court case that makes major changes in the law; US Supreme Court case that resolves a major issue & has substantial practical impact. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| rights specifically guaranteed in Bill of Rights have penumbras (shadow rights) creating other rights that are not specifically enumerated. (e.g. privacy) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| court decision that sets forth legal principals followed in later cases. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| term meaning that facts & applicable law in 2 cases being examined are similar but not as similar as 2 cases on all fours. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| term meaning that facts & applicable law in 2 cases being examined are very similar. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| point out basic differences. To distinguish a case - to show why it is irrelevant (or not very relevant) to the lawsuit being decided. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| reject or supersede. Same court or higher court rejects legal principles on which a case was based; ends cases value as precedent. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| majority of the judges agree on opinion; one judge writes opinion, other judges who agree join the opinion. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| less judges agree than majority, but more agree than any other opinion; only used in US Sup Court, intermediate appellate courts setting en banc, because only courts with enough members to have plurality. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Judge agrees with result reached in opinion, but not necessarily the reasoning other Judges used to reach conclusion. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Judge's formal disagreement with a decision of the majority. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "By the Court." Opinion backed by all judges in a particular court; usually no one judges name on it. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| all judges of a court participating in a case all together, rather than individually or in panels of a few. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| process that a judge is disqualified (or disqualifies himself) from hearing a case because of prejudice or conflict of interest. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| highest trier in federal & state court systems; usually contains one court. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| higher court (between US Sup Court & District Court) that can hear appeals from lower court; determines whether lower court applied the law correctly. |
|
|
Term
| mandatory authority or binding authority |
|
Definition
| binding authority; must be followed under doctrine of stare decisis. (e.g. statutes of same state, decisions or higher court of same state.) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| court decision on a question of law (how law affects the case) that is binding authority on lower courts in cases in which those courts must decide a similar question of law involving similar facts. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| sources of law that can but are not required to be used by a judge in making up his mind about a case. (e.g. legal encyclopedia, related cases from other states.) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| judges decision in a case; part of written decision that applies the law to the facts. |
|
|
Term
| doctrine of caveat emptor |
|
Definition
| "Beware"; warning "let the buyer beware" |
|
|
Term
| dictum (dicta) or obiter dictum |
|
Definition
| a discussion of side points or unrelated points |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| decision or decision making that excludes judges personal views & rules strictly on precedent. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| guidelines used to determine the meaning & effect of statutory law. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| when statute is ambiguous court should interpret by looking at legislative history to see what lawmakers meant when they passed it. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| if contract, statute or other writings seem clear, meaning of it should be determined from the writing itself not from other evidence. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| introduction usually saying why a document was written (e.g. statute.) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| taking it literally; "what it says it means"; law should be applied too the narrowest possible set of situations. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| ignorance of the law is no excuse. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| back ground documents & records of hearings related to enactment of a bill; may be used to decide the meaning of the law after enactment. |
|
|
Term
| doctrine of original intent |
|
Definition
| Constitution is interpreted & applied consistent with the framers intentions. |
|
|
Term
| modernists or instrumentalists |
|
Definition
| individuals who find meaning through reading the language of Constitution in light of contemporary life; this approach contributes to judicial, social, & moral evolution of the nation. |
|
|
