Chapter 1

Question 1

Natural Law School

Answer 1

Principles inherent in human nature; people discover through use of natural intelligence or reason; higher order than positive law

Question 2

Positivist School

Answer 2

National law; written law of a society at a particular point in time; no such thing as “natural rights”; Law is the law and must be obeyed until changed

Question 3

Historical School

Answer 3

Looks to the past to discover what principles of contemporary law should be; judges more likely to strictly follow decisions from past cases

Question 4

Legal Realism

Answer 4

Advocate less abstract and more realistic/pragmatic approach to law; takes into account social context; different judges bring different reasoning to cases presented

Question 5

Primary Sources of Law

Answer 5

1: Constitution 2: Statutory Law 3: Regulations by administrative agencies 4: Case law and common law doctrines

Question 6

Constitutional Law

Answer 6

US Constitution is supreme law of the land; 10th amendment reserves to the states all powers not granted to the federal government: each state has its own constitution; unless it conflicts with US Const, it is supreme law within state’s borders

Question 7

Statutory Law

Answer 7

Laws enacted by legislative bodies; also includes ordinances (municipal statutes); State statutes only apply within state; no statutes may violate constitution(s)

Question 8

Uniform Laws

Answer 8

Drafted to create interstate compatibility; only if state legislature adopts a uniform law does that law become part of the statutory law of that state; however, states have right to modify/dice laws to their liking, thus uniform laws may not be entirely “uniform” among states

Question 9

Uniform Commercial Code

Answer 9

UCC; facilitates commerce among the states by providing a uniform yet flexible, set of rules governing commercial transactions; assures contract enforcement for businesses

Question 10

Administrative Law

Answer 10

Rules, orders, decisions of administrative agencies; dominant element in regulatory environment of business

Question 11

Administrative Agency

Answer 11

Federal, state, or Local government agency established to perform a specific function

Question 12

Federal Agency

Answer 12

“Executive Agencies” exist within cabinet departments of the executive branch (i.e. US Food and drug admin), subject to authority of president who has the power to appoint and remove officers of federal agencies; “Independent Regulatory Agencies” at the federal level (i.e. FTC, SEC, FCC) are less regulated by president, whose officers serve fixed terms and cannot be removed without just cause

Question 13

State and Local Agencies

Answer 13

Commonly created as parallel to a federal agency; Federal agency regulations take precedence over conflicting state regulations

Question 14

Case Law

Answer 14

Judge-made law; announced in court decisions; interpretations of constitutional provisions, statutes enacted by legislatures, and of regulations by agencies; PRINCIPLES AND DOCTRINES ANNOUNCED IN CASES; governs all areas not covered by statutory law or admin law; part of our common law tradition

Question 15

specific performance

Answer 15

ordering a party to perform an agreement as promised

Question 16

Injunction

Answer 16

Ordering a party to cease engaging in a particular activity or to undo some wrong or injury

Question 17

Recission

Answer 17

Cancellation of a contractual obligation

Question 18

Remedies in Equity

Answer 18

Applicable when monetary damages are not sufficient or desired outcome (i.e. Specific performance, injunction, recission)

Question 19

Remedies at Law

Answer 19

Compensation practices from courts (i.e. monetary damages)

Question 20

Defendant

Answer 20

party being sued; arguments raised are “defenses” (i.e. respondent)

Question 21

Plaintiff

Answer 21

The suing party (i.e. petitioner)

Question 22

Legal Precedent

Answer 22

Decision that furnished an example or authority for deciding subsequent cases involving similar legal principles or facts

Question 23

Stare Decisis

Answer 23

“To stand on decided cases”; judges obligated to follow precedents established within their jurisdictions; creates efficiency: if other courts have ruled on similar case, legal outcome can serve as guides; creates stability in law

Two aspects:
1 - decisions made by a higher court are binding on lower courts -
2 - Court should not overturn its own precedents unless there is a compelling reason to do so

Question 24

Jurisdiction

Answer 24

Area in which a court has the power to apply the law

Question 25

Binding authority

Answer 25

case precedent, statute, or other source of law that a court must follow when deciding a case

Question 26

Cases of first impression

Answer 26

Cases where no precedent exists; often look to persuasive authorities (precedents from other jurisdictions) for guidance

Question 27

Legal Reasoning

Answer 27

deciding what law applies to a given dispute, and then applying that law to the specific facts or circumstances of the case; judges harmonize their decisions with those that have been made before, as the doctrine of stare decisis requires

Question 28

IRAC Method

Answer 28

Legal reasoning steps: Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion

Question 29

Cases on Point

Answer 29

Previously decided cases that are as similar as possible to the one under consideration

Question 30

Forms of Legal Reasoning

Answer 30

Deductive Reasoning, Linear Reasoning, Reasoning by Analogy

Question 31

Deductive Reasoning

Answer 31

Employs a syllogism (logical relationship involving major premise, minor premise, and a conclusion)

Question 32

Linear Reasoning

Answer 32

Proceeds from one point to another, linear progression of thought logically connecting various points, with the last point representing a conclusion

Question 33

Reasoning by Analogy

Answer 33

Compare the facts in the case at hand to the fats in other cases and, to the extent that the patterns are similar, to apply the same rule of law to the present case