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| legislation adopted by congress or a state legislature |
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| law which covers the legal principles that apply to government agencies, bureaus, boards, or commissions. |
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| when one party to a contract fails to do what they agreed to do |
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| used to make it easier to look up cases |
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| focuses less on precedence and judge's interpretation; relies heavily on legislation, not much room for interpretation. |
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| compilation of legislation at all levels of government. |
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| emphasizes the role of judges in interpreting and deciding the law (all states in U.S. but La.) relies heavily on precedence |
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| rewarded (generally as money) to the victim of a breach of contract as a result of a suit. |
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| a situation in which both state and federal laws or courts, or laws of more than one state, are applicable to a potential lawsuit or interpretation of a document and seem to be inconsistent or in conflict. The plaintiff's attorney's first problem is to decide in what state or federal court the lawsuit should be filed |
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| law which involves the interpretation and application of either the federal or state constitutions |
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| Constitutional Relativity |
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| in rejection of stare decisis, courts view that the constitution should be interpreted relative to the times in which they interpret the law. |
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| the rules of how owners transfer resources by exchanging them. |
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| the legal rules that structure, empower, and regulate the agents of corporations and define their relationships to the owners. protect the property interest that the owners have in corporations. |
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| business chartered by the state to do business as a legal person in a certain for of organization. |
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| law which specifies various offenses against the proper order of the state |
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| a comment by a judge in a decision or ruling which is not required to reach the decision, but may state a related legal principle as the judge understands it |
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| these are damages requested and/or awarded in a lawsuit when the defendant's willful acts were malicious, violent, oppressive, fraudulent, wanton or grossly reckless. Used to punish offender and make an example to the public. |
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| precisely what was necessary to the decision reached. e.g. the legal issues directly involving the case at hand |
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| require the plaintiff to prove the defendant has injured the plaintiff's property. |
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| require the plaintiff to prove that the defendant intended to cross the boundaries protecting the plaintiff. assault, battery, conversion, and trespass are intentional torts. |
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schools of thought that explain the origin, justification, meaning, and essence of law:
natural
positive
historical
sociological
legal realism |
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most significant of social forces. Tells members of society what they can or cannot do.
made up of rules
these rules are laid down by the state and backed up by enforcement |
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| laws made by elected officials in the legislative branch of the government. exist at all levels of government. second to the constitution. |
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| requires the plaintiff to show that the defendant injured what was proper to he plaintiff through unreasonable behavior. |
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| the formal, written decision of a judge setting out the reasons for making a certain decision in a case. |
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| laws passed by local governments. |
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| the previous, published decisions of judges on cases; important to civil law, rarely overturned. |
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covers those legal problems and issues that concern private resource relationships with other people.
property
contract
tort |
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| deals with the methods and the means by which substantive law is made and administered. |
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| the legal right to exclude or keep others from interfering with what you own, with your resources. |
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| involves the recognition of exclusive right in both tangible and intangible resources. |
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deals with matters that involve the regulation of society as opposed to individuals interactions with each other.
constitutional
administrative
criminal
private |
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| these are damages requested and/or awarded in a lawsuit when the defendant's willful acts were malicious, violent, oppressive, fraudulent, wanton or grossly reckless. Used to punish offender and make an example to the public. |
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| the right of an individual to take another person's resources because that person has failed to meet the requirements of the law |
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| laws are made generally and equally applicable; apply to all members of society and they apply to various groups in the same way. |
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| methods to encourage or to force compliance with the obedience to the law. |
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| order by the court mandating the other party to perform the bargain as agreed upon in a contract. |
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| doctrine of following precedence |
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| legislation adopted by congress or a state legislature |
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| the court's interpreting a statute or ordinance to best determine the intent of the legislature when the statute was enacted. |
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| regards the legal relationship of people with other people or between them and the state. |
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| civil wrong other than a breach |
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| establishes rules for compensation when an owner's legal boundaries are wrongfully crossed by another. Requires actual injury to owner's resources. |
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| deals with all the phases which may ordinarily arise in the handling of commercial transactions from start to finish. applies only to purchases and sales of personal property like goods, no to contracts to sell land or contracts for personal services. |
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| trial jury that returns a verdict in civil and criminal cases |
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| lawsuits begin here; can take any number of names (district court, superior court, circuit court). Responsible for determining the facts and the law in the case. |
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| court where the parties to litigation may appeal the ruling in a trial court. Only concerned with questions of law regarding case. |
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| a review of a trial court's case |
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| in states with two levels of appeals court, this is the first level. consists of 3-5 judges |
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| the highest court of appeals. consists of 7-9 judges. |
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| the process by which one requests a second review of their case. |
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| has subject-matter jurisdiction to hear a civil case because the plaintiff has alleged a violation of the Constitution or law of the United States, or treaties to which the United States is a party |
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| cases in which the plaintiff and defendant are citizens of different states; jurisdictional amount greater than $75000 required. |
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| federal rules of civil procedure |
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| provide the details concerning the procedures to be followed in federal court litigation. |
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| power of the judiciary to review laws passed by the legislative body and declare them unconstitutional and void. |
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| the philosophy of very limited and rare use of the power of judicial review |
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| the philosophy of judicial review that believes the power should be used whenever the needs of society justify its use. believe the courts have a major role to play in correcting the wrongs in society. |
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| the party who files a civil action |
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| what a defendant files to sue the plaintiff |
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| the title given to a defendant who files a counterclaim in the new case |
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| title given to the plaintiff who is being counter sued. |
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| other parties who may be liable to a defendant who is liable to a plaintiff |
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two requirements that must be fulfilled for a plaintiff to file a case.
1)must be allegation of a wrong
2)plaintiff must have a personal stake in the matter |
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| jurisdiction of the court over the parties in the case. gained over plaintiff when suit is filed; gained over defendant via summons. |
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| notice to appear in court give to the defendant |
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allow states to have jurisdiction over citizens of other states
1) defendant must have committed a tort within the state or
2) owns property in the state that is the subject matter of the lawsuit
3) has entered in to a contract in or conducted business which is the subject matter of the lawsuit inside the state |
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| the process of requesting and transporting a prisoner from one state to another. |
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| one in which one or more plaintiffs file suit on their own behalf and on behalf of all other persons who may have a similar claim. Usually lead to settlement, discouraged at the federal level. |
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| the legal documents that are filed with a court to begin the litigation process. |
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| pleading filed to start a case. contains allegations by the plaintiff and a statement or request o the relief sought |
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| the written response by the defendant to the complaint. anything not admitted or denied in the answer is assumed to be admission of guilt. answer may contain counterclaims |
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| granting the plaintiff the relief sought in the complaint when a defendant does not respond in any way. |
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| process that prevents surprises in court. makes sure each side is fully aware of all facts involved in the case and the intentions of the parties. |
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| least expensive form of discovery. consists of one party submitting a series of written questions to the opposing parties which must be answered. |
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| request for production of documents |
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| request filed after interrogatories for documents pertinent to the lawsuit's outcome |
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| lawyer orally asks questions of the possible witnesses before the trial |
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| request to admit that certain issues in the pleadings are no longer in dispute. helps to narrow issues and make settlement more likely |
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| a pretrial determination of either party's rights sought when a question of law is at issue. |
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| set time limit after which a suit cannot be filed |
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| judgment on the pleadings |
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| party asks the judge to decide the case based solely on the complaint and the answer |
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| similar to judgment on pleadings but also includes evidence as well as pleadings in the decision making process. |
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| the fact that each potential juror must speak the truth when questioned by both attorneys before a case. |
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| challenges for which no cause or reason need be given to excuse a prospective juror. |
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| a verdict by a jury based on the specific direction by a trial judge that they must bring in that verdict because one of the parties has not proved his/her/its case as a matter of law (failed to present credible testimony on some key element of the claim or of the defense) |
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| comes after the closing arguments, the judge acquaints the jury with the law applicable to the case in order that they are best able to decide an outcome. |
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the burden or responsibility that a person has to come forward with evidence on a particular issue
The burden of persuasion is the affirmative duty of a party to establish his or her right to judicial relief by convincing the trier of fact, the judge or the jury, that the facts asserted are true and support the allegations |
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| beyond a reasonable doubt |
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| criminal case burden of proof; must leave no room for any bit of doubt in the minds of the jurors as to the violation of the law. |
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| preponderance of evidence |
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| civil cases. achieved when there is greater weight of evidence in support of the proposition than there is against it. |
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| clear and convincing proof |
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| civil cases. scales of evidence must tilt heavily in one way; more burden than preponderance but less than beyond reasonable doubt |
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| when the judge agrees with the verdict, judgment is entered in favor of the winning party. |
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| judgment notwithstanding the verdict |
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| A judgment entered by the court in favor of one party even though the jury returned a verdict for the opposing party |
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| the successful party in the trial court |
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| party initiating the writ of certiorari to the supreme court |
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| the other party involved in a supreme court appeal case. |
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| filed in an appeals case by each party, contain a short description of the case; factual summary; legal points; and arguments for reversing or affirming the lower court decision. |
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| time given in the appeal case when the reviewing court gets to hear oral arguments by the lawyers involved in the case. |
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| when the winner in a case requests that the court's assistance in carrying out the verdict. occurs when a court official seizes some property of the debtor, sells it a public auction and applies the proceeds to the creditor's claim. |
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| another form of execution where a portion of the debtor's wages are paid to the court which in turn pays the creditor. |
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| the ruling that a case has been finally decided on appeal or has ran of time to appeal the decision |
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| dress rehearsal of trial where attorneys assemble a group of citizens and present the case, then let them decide. helps to find problems with the case and leads to negotiations between parties. |
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| a formal alternative dispute resolution system. most commonly used form of ADR, provides quick resolution, substitute for litigation |
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| one who who is disinterested in any financial impact of the decision and neutral regarding the issues; decides on the case |
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| act of referring a matter to arbitration |
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| both parties agree to arbitration |
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| occurs when a statute or court requires parties to arbitrate |
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| decision handed down by an arbitrator |
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| predispute arbitration clause |
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| agreement in a contract that both parties will submit conflicts to arbitration |
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| postdispute arbitration agreement |
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| when conflict arises after a contract has been signed and both parties agree that arbitration would be better than litigation |
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| review of mandatory arbitration by the court; tries the issue as if arbitration never occurred. |
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| process by which a third person attempts to assist disputing parties in resolving their differences. |
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| third party who assists in resolving disputes between parties. cannot impose binding solution. |
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| private meeting between one party and the mediator. |
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| combination of mediation and arbitration. the parties mediate what they can and arbitrate the rest. |
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| system of checks and balances separating the powers of and between different levels of government |
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| concept that each level of government has a separate and distinct role to play |
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| courts may be called upon to decide if a state law is invalid because it conflicts with a federal law. |
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| concept that allows the federal gov to regulate an area of law; makes any state law that deals with said area unconstitutional. Applies to to rules and regulations of federal administrative agencies, too. |
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| prevents states from enacting laws or regulations that affect existing contracts. does not apply to federal gov. |
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| first amendment, congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. |
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| first amendment. congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion. |
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| first amendment freedom of press grants press the right to print anything, but is liable for everything printed. |
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1. A false and defamatory statement concerning another;
2. The unprivileged publication of the statement to a third party (that is, somebody other than the person defamed by the statement);
3. If the defamatory matter is of public concern, fault amounting at least to negligence on the part of the publisher; and
4. Damage to the plaintiff. |
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| false printed statements; when about a public official or figure must be able to prove malice |
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| actual knowledge that printed statements were false or reckless disregard for whether or not they are true. |
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| conduct or actions considered to be speech and henceforth are protected under free speech. |
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| if a prohibition is expressed in a way that is too unclear for a person to reasonably know whether or not their conduct falls within the law, then to avoid the risk of legal consequences they often stay far away from anything that could possibly fit the uncertain wording of the law. |
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| speech by corporations; cannot be limited by government without compelling state interest expressed to justify the restriction |
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| fourteenth amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the deprivation of liberty or property without due process of law. A due process claim is cognizable only if there is a recognized liberty or property interest at stake. |
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| "no state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws".[1] The Equal Protection Clause can be seen as an attempt to secure the promise of the United States' professed commitment to the proposition that "all men are created equal"[2] by empowering the judiciary to enforce that principle against the states |
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| law can violate equal protection if it passes a rationality test |
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| congress has power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states |
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