Chapter 3 Flashcards
Doctrine of Implied Powers
Powers not stated in the Constitution but that are necessary for Congress to carry out other expressly granted powers.
Double Jeopardy
A constitutional protection against being tried twice for the same crime.
Res judicata
When a civil case has a final judgment and is no longer subject to appeal, it cannot be relitigated between the original parties.
Civil Law
Law that deals with harm to an individual.
Criminal Law
Law that deals with harm to society as a whole.
Plantiff
A person who initiates a lawsuit.
Defendant
In a lawsuit, the person who is sued. in a criminal case the person who is being charged with a crime.
Beyond a reasonable doubt
The standard of proof used in criminal trials. The evidence presented must be so conclusive and complete that there are no reasonable doubts regarding the guilt of the accused.
Preponderance of the evidence
The standard of proof most commonly used in civil trials. The evidence presented must prove that it is more likely than not the defendant committed the wrongful act.
Clear and Convincing
The standard of proof used in some civil trials. The evidence presented must be greater than a preponderance of the evidence but less than a reasonable doubt.
Damages
Monetary compensation including compensatory, punitive, and nominal damages.
Felony
A serious crime, usually carrying a person sentence of one or more years.
Misdemeanor
A minor crime not amounting to a felony, usually punishable a fine or a jail sentence of less than a year.
Mens rea
Bad intent
Actus reus
bad act
Prima facie case
What the prosecution or plaintiff must be able to provide in order for the case to go to the jury - that is, the elements of the prosecution’s case or the plaintiff’s cause of action.
Defense
A fact or legal argument that would relieve the defendant of liability in a civil care or guilt in a criminal case.
Cause of action
A claim that based on the law and the facts is sufficient to support a lawsuit. If the plaintiff does not state a valid cause of action in the complaint, the court will dismiss it.
Affirmative Defense
A defense whereby the defendant offers new evidence to avoid judgment.
Sovereign immunity
The prohibition agains suing the government without the government’s consent.
Compensatory damages
Money awarded to a plaintiff in payment for his or her actual losses.
Punitive damages
Money awarded to a plaintiff in cases of intentional torts in order to punish the defendant and serve as a waring to others.
Nominal damages
A token sum awarded when liability has been found but monetary damages cannot be shown.
Contract
An agreement supported by consideration.
Consideration
Something of value exchanged to form the basis of a contract.
Property law
Law dealing with ownership
Real Property
Land and objects permanently attached to the land.
Personal property
All property that is not real property.
Constructive
Not factually true, but accepted by the courts as being legally true.
Legal fiction
An assumption that something that is not real is real, for example saying that a corporation is a person for the purposes of it being able to sue and be sued.
Tort Law
Law that deals with harm to a person or a person’s property.
Intentional tort
A tort committed by one who intends to do the act that creates the harm.
Negligence
the failure to act reasonably under the circumstances.
Contributory negiligence
Negligence by the plaintiff that contributed to his or her injury. Normally, any finding of contributory negligence acts as a complete bart to a plaintiff’s recovery.
Assumption of the risk
Voluntarily and knowingly subjecting oneself to danger.
Comparative negligence
A method for measuring the relative negligence of the plaintiff and the defendant, with a commensurate decrease in the compensation for the injuries.
Strict liability
Liability without having to prove fault.
Substantive Law
Law that creates rights and duties.
Procedural Law
Law that regulates how the legal system operates.
Statute of Limitations
The law that sets the length of time from when something happens to when a lawsuit must be filed before the right to bring it is lost.
