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| the system of fundamental principles by which a nation, state, or corporation is governed. |
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| Three divisions into which the Constitution separates the government of the United States, specifically, the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch |
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| the legislative branch is primarily responsible for enacting the laws. |
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| the executive branch is primarily responsible for enforcing the law. |
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| is primarily responsibe for interpreting the law |
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| the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution; the portion of the Constitution that sets forth the rights that are the fundamental principles of the United States and the foundation of American Citizenship. |
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| the law as laid down in the decisions of the courts in similar cases that have previously been decided. |
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| law found in the decisions of the courts rather than in statutes; judge-made law; English law adopted byt the early American colonists, which is part of the Untied States' judicial heritae and forms the basis of much of its law today |
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| the doctrine that judicial decisions stand as precedents for cases arising in the future. |
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| prior decisions of the same court or a higher court that a judge must follow in deciding a subsequent case presenting similar facts and the same legal problem, even thoughdifferent parties are involved and many years have elapsed. |
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| previous decisions of a higher court that a judge must follow in reaching a decision in a case. |
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| previous decisions of a higher court that a judge may, but does not have to, follow in reaching a decision in a case. |
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| the explain why a particular case is not precedent or authority with respect to the matter in controversy; to point out significant differences |
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| offical, published reports of cases decided by courts, giving the opinions rendered in the cases, with headnotes prepared by the publisher. |
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| looseleaf reporter services |
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| offical reports of cases decided by courts that are published in a notebook-style format that can be easily updated by substituting more recent pages for the original ones. |
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| law that is promulgated (to set forth or teach publically) by statute, as opposed to law that is promulgated by judiciary. |
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| a single judicial decision published shortly after it has been issued by the court and well before it is incorporated into a reporter. |
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| the collected statutes enacted during a session of a legislature. |
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| the published statutes of a jurisdiction, arranged in systematic form. |
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| the body of law that controls the way in which administrative agencies operate; regulations issued by administrative agencies. |
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| a board, commission, bureau, office, or department, of the executive branch of government, that implements the law that originates with the legislative branch |
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| law based upon a published code of statutes, as opposed to law found in the decisions of courts |
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| an informal term for an action or proceeding in a civil court, but not for a criminal prosecution |
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| the means by which a right is enforced, an injury is redressed, and relief is obtained. |
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| the sum of money that may be recovered in the courts as financial reparation for an injury or wrong suffered as a result of breach of contract or a tortious act. |
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| a remedy available in equity rather than at law; generally relief other than money damages. |
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| damages recoverable in a lawsuit for loss or injury suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the defendant's conduct. |
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| damages that may be added to the general damages in a case, and arise from the particular or special circumstances of the case; the natural but not necessary result of a tort; damages arising naturally but not necessarily from a breach of contract |
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| damages that are the natural and probable result of the wrongful acts complained of |
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| damages awarded to a plaintiff in a very small or merely symbolic amount where no actual damages have been incurred, but the saw recognizes the need to vindicate the plaintiff, or some compensable injury has been shown, but the amount of that injury has not been proven. |
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| damages that are awarded over and above compensatory damages or actual damages because of the wanton, reckless, or malicious nature of the wrong done by the plaintiff |
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| damages that are awarded over and above compensatory or actual damages for the purpose of making an example of the plaintiff to discourage others from engaging in the same kind of conduct in the future |
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| a court order that commands or prohibits some act or course of conduct. |
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| the equitable remedy of compelling perfomance of contract, as distinguished from an action at law for damages for breach of contract due to nonperformance |
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| branch of the law that specifies what conduct constitutes crime and establishes appropriate punishments for such conduct. |
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| an offense against the authority of the state; a public wrong, as distinguished from a private wrong; an act in violation of the penal code; a felonhy or a misdemeanor |
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| a crime not amounting to a felony; in many jurisdicions, misdemeanors are offenses for which the punishment is incarceration for less than a year or the payment of a fine. |
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| a general term for more serious crimes, as distinguished from lesser offenses, which are known as misdemeanors; in manhy jurisdictions, felonies are crimes for which the punishment is death or more than one year of imprisonment. |
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| area of the law that defines right conduct, as opposed to procedural law, which governs trhe process by which rights are adjudicated. |
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| the law governing the manner in which rights are enforced; the law precribing the procedure to be followed in a case |
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| the collective term for the main sources of the law:constutions, judicial opinions, statutes and treaties, and administrative law. |
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| binding legal authority that a court must follow in making a decision in a case |
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| authority that is neither binding authority nor precedent, but which a court may use to support its decision if it chooses |
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| nonbinding or persuasive authority that is not the law itself but simply commentary upon or a summary of the law |
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