Ch 1. Types and Sources of Laws Flashcards
Fire departments are creatures of ____. in other words, fire departments are created by ___ and governed by ___. (1)
law; laws; laws
That which must be obeyed subject to sanction or consequences by the government. (3)
a Law
The US Constitution serves 2 primary functions: (5)
1) it serves as the supreme law of the land
2) establishes our democratic form of government
___ branch is responsible for creating laws and imposing taxes. (5)
The legislative
___ branch is responsible for enforcing the laws and running the day-to-day operations of government. (5)
The executive
___ branch is responsible for conducting trials, handling appeals, and interpreting laws within the context of cases. (5)
The judicial
The balance of power is effective because no one branch can function without ____. (5)
reliance upon the other branches
A ____ effectively prevents an act of Congress from becoming a law, unless the Congress overrides it by a two-thirds majority vote. (5)
veto
A court has jurisdiction to act only when ___. (6)
a case of controversy has been brought before it
A ___ serves as the highest law within the state, subject only to the US Constitution.
state constitution
The term ___ refers to an organizing law that is established by the people themselves. (6)
constitution
A ___ differs from a constitution in that it is an organizing law that is issued by a sovereign, such as a state. (6)
charter
Local charters are issued by ___ pursuant to state constitutional authority. (6)
the state legislature
The charter specifies the legal authority of the municipality and ___. (6-7)
designates its boundaries
___ are considered to be subdivisions of the state because they are created by the state , for the purpose of helping the state address the safety and well being of the residents. (7)
Municipalities
___ laws allow the citizens of a municipality to adopt or amend their own charter, without having to go back to the state legislature. (7)
Home rule charter
A ___ is a process for the eligible voters in a community to vote on a given law. (7)
referendum
___ serve as the supreme law of the local jurisdiction and set up the form of local government. (7)
Municipal charters
The laws that Congress passes are called ___. (7)
statutes
Federal statutes are organized into a large body of laws called ___. (7)
the US Code (U.S.C.)
On the local level, the legislative body of a municipality, such as a city or town council, has the authority to enact laws called ___. (7)
ordinances
Federal administrative agencies can be authorized by Congress to pass laws of their own, called ___. (8)
regulations
Federal regulations are compiled and placed into a code called ___. (8)
the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
___ refers to the written decisions of judges issued in the process of deciding actual cases and can set binding precedent for future cases decided in the same jurisdiction. (9)
Case law
Written decisions are commonly organized into series of books called ___. (9)
case books or reporters
___ refers to judge-made law that developed in England, and was in use in the American colonies prior to the Revolution. (11)
Common law
Legislatures at the federal, state, and local levels may authorize the executive, be it the president, governor, or mayor, to issue ___, which have the effect of law. (11)
executive orders
___ is a court order directing a party to a lawsuit to do or refrain from doing some act. (11)
An injunction
___ refers to voluntary guidelines and recommendations that do not carry the force and effect of law. (12)
Standards (may also be referred to as codes)
___ represent generally accepted industry-wide practices and recommendations. (13)
Consensus standards
The term ___ refers to the need for a general agreement, but not a unanimous vote of all members involved in the development of the standard. (13)
consensus
Governments may adopt standards into law in one of two ways: (13)
1) the legislative branch may adopt a standard through legislation
2) an administrative agency may adopt a standard through a rulemaking process
___ refers to laws that are designed to prevent harm to society in general. (15)
Criminal law
___ refers to laws that are designed to address the relative rights between parties where one part has been wronged by another, as well as matters related to probate, domestic relations, workers’ compensation, and other noncriminal matters. (13)
Civil law
A criminal case must be brought by ___, and must be based upon the violation of a specific criminal law. (13)
the government
In a civil case, a person or organization, called ___, files suit against another party named ___. (15)
the plaintiff; the defendant
The civil burden of proof is often described as ___, which means the plaintiff needs only to prove that it was more than likely than not that the defendant was wrong. (16)
“by fair preponderance of the evidence”
___ refers to the legal authority of a person, official, court, or agency to take an official action; it is initially defined for each level of government by its corresponding constitution or charter. (16)
Jurisdiction
The Tenth Amendment states that: (17)
States have inherent authority to exercise all jurisdiction that is not specifically given to the federal government by the Constitution
When it comes to matters of public safety and the health and welfare of the people, states have broad powers to pass laws as they see fit to protect their citizens. (17)
Police powers (one of the most important judicial powers left to the states)
Police powers jurisdiction includes matters pertaining to __4__. (17)
1) fire protection
2) emergency medical response
3) fire codes
4) criminal offenses
Most criminal offenses are made and enforced at the ___ level. (17)
state
The federal government is limited in what criminal laws it can pass, because ___. (17)
it does not have jurisdiction to exercise broad police powers as do states.
It is the ___ that have the broadest discretion to pass laws governing activities that occur within their borders. (17)
individual states
