Chapter One Flashcards
Legal analysis
the process of applying the law to specific facts
Fact bound
Legal issues are said to be fact bound when even a minor change in the facts can change the outcome
Cause of action
a claim that based on the law and the facts, is sufficient to support a lawsuit
Enacted law
constitutions, statues, ordinances, and regulations
Constituion
the fundamental law of a nation or state
Statute
a law enacted by a state legislature or by congress
Ordinance
a law enacted by a local government, a subcategory of statutory law
Regulation
a law promulgated by an administrative agency
What do lawyers mainly focus on during research?
enacted law & court made law
Mandatory authority
court decisions from a higher court in the same jurisdiction
Persuasive authority
court decisions from an equal or a lower court from the same jurisdiction or from a court in a different jurisdiction
State decisis
the doctrine that normally once a court has decided an issue, other courts in the same jurisdiction will decide the same way
Substantive facts
things that happened to the parties before the litigation began and that are relevant to their claims
Procedural facts
actions taken by lower courts or administrative agencies before the case reached the court issuing the opinion you are reading
Legal issues
questions about interpretation and application of the law
Disposition
the result reached in a particular case
Affirm
a decision is affirmed when the litigants appeal the trial court decision and the higher court agrees with what the lower court has done
Reverse
a decision is reversed when the litigants appeal the trial court decision and the higher court disagrees with the decision of the lower court
Remand
when an appellate court sends a case back to the trial court for a new trial or other action
Concurring opinion
an opinion that agrees with the majority’s result but disagrees with its reasoning
Dissenting opinion
an opinion that disagrees with the majority’s decision and reasoning
Case briefing
a method for summarizing court opinions
Rule
in a case brief, the general legal principle in existence before the case began
Issue
in a case brief, the statement of the problem facing the court
Holding
in a case brief, the court’s answer to the issue presented
Narrow holding
a statement of the court’s decision that contains many of the case’s specific facts, thereby limiting its future applicability to a narrow range of cases
Broad holding
a statement of the court’s decision in which the facts are either omitted or given in very general terms so that it will apply to a wider range of cases
Ratio decidendi
the court’s reasoning for its decision
Dictum
a statement in a judicial opinion not necessary for the decision of the case
Legal reasoning
the application of legal rules to a specific factual situation.
Procedural question
Judicial history?
Legal issue? - references to cases that agrees or disagrees with the decision
What is the official decision?
Disposition
Affirm, Reverse, & Demand
Concurring
can affect the way law is interpreted in the future
Dissenting
provide arguments that may sway other judges in the future
Why does the study of law involve more than simply memorizing rules?
because it is important to know how to apply the law to specific facts, which is legal analysis. Also laws always change.
The importance of stare decisis
Help guide courts on their decisions and allow changes to be made
why is it important to know whether a set of facts are analogous to or distinguishable from those in prior court decisions
Bc every case is different
analogous: following stare decisis will result in the court deciding in the same way a past court did
distinguishable: then the court will make a decision on their own
invalid cause of action
they do not have a legal remedy and not every problem will be supplied with one.
there no legal basis or facts
Why does the law change?
in order to change communities values and overall just protecting people. Also, as time goes by, we interpret law differently
Why is there no right answer to a case?
everyone has a different opinion and interpret law differently. It really does come down to morals.
Case
legal opinion written by a court
it is one of the sources of positive law
promulgated by the gov
Importance of cases
Courts make law just like the legislatve branch
The court’s interpretation becomes the law
Common law areas of the law
(The cases are the law, no statutes or sources)
Trial courts
resolve disputes between parties
Losing party has the right
to appeal to an appellate court
The cases that you read
are the decisions of appellate courts
plaintiff (appellant)
a person who brings a case against another in court
defendant (appellee)
the respondent in a case appealed
Where would you find constitutions, statutes, ordinances, etc
Legal reasoning
The section of a case brief that contains the court’s decision is known as the
holding
Law can be defined as
rules that help people resolve their conflicts
guidelines that show people how to interact
In our legal system
we follow a doctrine known as stare decisis
in deciding a case, a court will look to prior court decisions.
prior court decisions are known as precedent
If the Massachusetts Appeals Court (an intermediate level state appellate court) heard a case regarding a Massachusetts state law issue, which of the courts listed below could issue decisions that the Massachusetts Appeals Court would have to follow?
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
