Chapter 4 Law, The Courts and Contracts Flashcards
Legislative Branch
Congress
Executive Branch
President
Executive order
A rule or regulation issued by the president of the United States that becomes law without the prior approval of Congress
checks and balances
the system established by the US constitution that keeps any one branch of government from assuming too much power over the other branches
Thing the government can only do
- print money
- declare war
- make treaties
- provide army and navy
Things done at the state level
- issue license
- regulate intrastate within the state
- conduct elections
- take measures for public health and safety
constitutional law
law that derives from federal and state constitutions
Case law
law established through common law and legal precedent
common law
the body of unwritten law developed in England, primarily from judicial decisions based on custom and tradition
legal precedents
decisions made by judges in various courts that become rule of law and apply to future cases, even though they were not enacted by legislation
statutory law
law passed by the US congress or state legislature
administrative law
enabling statutes enacted to define powers and procedures when an agency is created
substantive law
the statutory or written law that defines and regulate legal rights and obligations
procedural law
law that defines the rules used to enforce substantive law.
criminal law
law that involves crimes against the state
felony
an offense punishable by death or by imprisonment in a state or federal prison for more than one year
misdemeanor
a crime punishable by fine or by imprisonment in a facility other than a prison for less than one year.
Procedural
define rules used to enforce substantive law
Tort
a civil wrong committed against a person or property, excluding breach of contract
tortfeasor
the person guilty of committing a tort
assault
the open threat of bodily harm to another, or acting in such a way as to put another in the reasonalbe apprehension of bodily harm
battery
an action that causes bodily harm to another
defamation of character
involves damaging a person’s reputation by making public statements that are both false and malicious.
false imprisonment
the intentional, unlawful restraint or confinement of one person by another
fraud
deceitful practices in depriving or attempting to deprive another of his or her rights
4 essential elements of contract
- agreement
- consideration
- legal subject matter
- contractual capacity
