Chapter 1 Flashcards
US Constitution
Supreme law of the land
Creates US gov
10th Amendment
Reservation clause/State’s rights
Anything not expressly federal is delegated to the states
State Constiution
Creates state gov
Highest law in a state
Subject to US constitution
Three Types of Statutory Laws
-Federal Statutes: Fed code or US code
-States Statutes: State registry
-Local/ Municipal: County, city, town- ordinances
(CANNOT violate state or US con.)
Common Law
American law based on old English law
Plaintiff/ Petitioner
Person bringing the action
Defender/ Respondent
Party being sued
Laches
defences raised by respondent
Stare Decisis
A court must follow earlier precedent
-Courts should not overturn precedent unless necessary
-Decisions by a higher court are binding
Statue of Limitations
timeframe for lawsuit to be filed
Legal Precedent
A court decision that is controlling on facts or a legal issue
Jurisdiction
The power to make legal decisions and judgements
IRAC/ Legal Reasoning
Issue- What is the case about?
Rule- What rule of law applies?
Application- Apply the rule of law
Conclusion- decision
Substantive law
defines the rights and responsibilities of people and organizations
Procedural law
Rules that cover how legal cases are handled
Public v Private law
-Public is between person and gov.
-Private is between private entities
