exam 1

Question 1

constitutional law

Answer 1

supreme law of the land the basis for all law in the United States
any law conflicting with the Constitution can be challenged and declared unconstitutional

Question 2

tenth amendment

Answer 2

all powers not granted to the federal government in the Constitution are reserved to the states

Question 3

federalism

Question 4

dual sovereignty

Answer 4

unless a state law conflicts with a federal law a state constitution is supreme within the state

Question 5

the separation of powers

Answer 5

to make it more difficult for the national government to use its power
the legislative branch makes the laws
the executive branch enforces the laws
the judicial branch interprets the laws
each branch performs a separate function and no branch may exercise the authority of another branch

Question 6

article 1 section 8 powers

Answer 6

lay and collect taxes
regulate commerce with foreign nations and amount several states
to declare war

Question 7

commerce clause

Answer 7

+ the national govcernment has the exclusive authority to regulate commerce that substantially affects trade and commerce among states
- the states do not the authority to regulate interstate commerce

Question 8

the heart of atlanta motel 1964

Answer 8

civil rights act upheld because of the commerce clause “the power of congress to promote interstate commerce also includes the power to regulate the local incidents of commerce including local activities”

Question 9

article 2: executive branch powers

Answer 9

commander in cheif of armed forces
power to make treaties with senate approval
nominates heads of departments and federal judges needs senate approval to appoint
issue executive orders
pardon fedal offenses
veto legislation (2/3 congress vote)

Question 10

electoral college

Answer 10

consists of a selection of electors the meetings of the electors where they vote for president and vice president and the counting of the electoral votes by congress

Question 11

how many electors are there how are they distributed among the states

Answer 11

consists of 538 electors a majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the president you state has the same numbers of electors as it does members in its congressional delegation
one for each member in the house of representatives plus state senators

Question 12

article 3 judical branch

Answer 12

no term limit
the judicial power of the united states shall be vested in one supreme court and in such inferior courts as the congress may from time to time ordain and establish the judge both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior and shall at stated times receive for their services a compensation which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office

Question 13

article 4 the full faith and credit cluase

Answer 13

states must respect and enforce judgements of other states

Question 14

1st amendment

Answer 14

congress shall make no law respecting and establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances

Question 15

1st amendment: freedom of speech

Answer 15

right to free speech is the basis for our democratic government laws that restrict the content of speech must have compelling government interests
commercial speech is given less protection than noncommercial speech under the constitution
free speech also includes symbolic speech including gestures movements articles of clothing
not protected clear and present danger-threatening call to incite violence defamation obscenity
expression is subject to reasonable restrictions there is a balance between government’s obligation to protect and citizens’ exercise of rights
Content-neutral laws: laws that regulate the time manner and place but not the content of speech receive less scrutiny by the courts

Question 16

state action doctrine

Answer 16

does a constitutional amendment apply to this situation
defendant must be the government if not the judge will dismiss because no state action

Question 17

role of attorney

Answer 17

adovocate for client (ligitation is adversial)

Question 18

attroney compenstation

Answer 18

defendant’s lawyer:usually hourly
plaintiffs lawyer: hourly fees or contingency fees ( personal injury
criminal cases: prsectuors and public defendants are government employees

Question 19

parties

Answer 19

civil: plaintiff and defendant
criminal: prosector and defandant

Question 20

judge

Answer 20

rule on matters of law
interprets law and applies to the trial reviewable on appeal

Question 21

jury

Answer 21

rules matter of fact based only on evidence admitted in court during trial

Question 22

trial court: original jurisdiction

Answer 22

discovery
judge presides
live witnesses
jury (considers only evidence presented)

Question 23

appellate court: appellate jurisdictions

Answer 23

losing side in trial court can appeal
no jury no witnesses
no new evidence this is a review of the trail court
judge can modify remand or confirm
losing side may appeal to highest court

Question 24

appellate judical decisions are precedent

Answer 24

highest appellate court
intermediate apellate court
trial court ( not precedent)

Question 25

structure of the federal courts

Answer 25

us supreme court (highest court of appeals cert is discretionary)
us circuit court of appeals (first appeal )
us district court (trial)

Question 26

appellant

Answer 26

files the appeal

Question 27

appellee

Answer 27

responds to the appeal

Question 28

pre trial court procedures

Answer 28

complaint
service of process: formal delivery of complaint and summons to the defendant
answer: may have counterclaim andor cross ocnplaint
discovery: interrogatories, requests for productions, depostiotns, testimony is given under oath, depoent may be parties or witnesses, not used in lieu of in court testimony

Question 29

class action lawsuits

Answer 29

allows for a single lawsuit to resolve a dispute with a very large number of similar plaintiffs

Question 30

jury selection/ voir dire

Answer 30

start with a pool of prospective jurors
questions by attorneys, attorneys may chellenge/remove/strike jurors for two reasons: for cause challenge and peremptory challenges

Question 31

us supreme court precedent outlawed peremptory challenges based on

Answer 31

race and gender

Question 32

basic judical requirements

Answer 32

before a lawsuit can be brought before a court the following requirements must be met
jurisiction- the court has authority to hear the case
venue- the court is in the proper geographic location
standing to sue- this plaintiff is the proper party to bring the lawsuit

Question 33

jurisidiciton

Answer 33

the authority of a court to hear a case and decide a specific action

Question 34

before a court can hear a case, it must have jurisdiction over

Answer 34

the person/company against whom the suit is brought (defendant) or over the property involved in the suit
the subject matter of the dispute

Question 35

long arm statue

Answer 35

a state statute that permits a state to obtain personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants
a defendant must have minimum contacts with that state
ex: incorporated in the state, has its principal office in the state, is doing business in state

Question 36

subject matter jurisdiction

Answer 36

the court has juridiction to hear this type of case
this determines whether you are in federal or state court

Question 37

original (trial court) and appellate juridiction (appeal courts)

Answer 37

this distinction between the two nomally lies in whether the case is being heard for the first time
courts having original jurisdiction are courts of the first instance or trial courts
courts having appellate jurisdiction at as reviewing or appellate courts

Question 38

subject matter jurisdiction: federal question

Answer 38

a question that pertains to the us constitution acts of congress or treaties

Question 39

subject matter jurisdiction: diversity jurisdiction

Answer 39

under article III section 2 of the constitution a basis for federal court jurisdiction over a lawsuit between
citizens of different states
a foreign country and citizens of a state or different states or
citizens of a state and citizens or subjects of a foreign country
and the amount in controversy must be more the $75000 before a federal court can take jurisdiction is such cases

Question 40

venue

Answer 40

the geographical district in which an action is tried and from which the jury is selected
venue in a civil case typically is where the defendant resides or does business
venue in a criminal case normally is where the crime occurred

Question 41

standing to sue

Answer 41

the requirement that an individual must have a sufficient stake in a controversy before they can bring a lawsuit
standing can be broken down into three elements
harm- the party bringing the action must have suffered harm- and invasion of a legally protected interest or must face imminent harm
causation- there mus the a causal connection between the conduct complained of and the injury
remedy- it must be likely as opposed to merely speculative that a favorable court decision will remedy the injury suffered

Question 42

alternative dispute resolution

Answer 42

the resolution of disputes outside the traditional judicial process
mediation
arbitration
advantages to adr:
cost,time, flexibility/control, privacy

Question 43

mediation

Answer 43

neutral thrid party facilitates settlement
mediation is nonbinding unless the parties voluntarily agree to a settlement agreement
if parties agree to settle the dispute, they sign a contract called a settlement agreement
mediation often required by judges before a trial date can be scheduled

Question 44

arbitration

Answer 44

the settling of a dispute by submitting it to a disinterested thrid party who renders a decision
the decision is usually binding
ways parties agree to arbitration
after the disputes arises
in a contract before a dispute arises

Question 45

corporate social responsibility: four-part decision-making analysis

Answer 45

legal: implications
pr: public relations impact
safety: risks for consumers and employees
money: financial implications

Question 46

professional code of ethics

Answer 46

some preofessions are requied to adhere to a code of ethics which applies to the licensed practitioners within the profession such as attorney cpas and doctors

Question 47

company code of ethics (policy)

Answer 47

most companies have a code of ethics as part of company policy
not laws but internal rules to indicate how employees are expected to act violations may result in employee discipline up to termination of employment

Question 48

responsible corporate officer doctrine

Answer 48

a court may impose criminal liability on a corporate officer who participated in directed or merely knew about a given criminal violation

Question 49

embezzlement

Answer 49

person in position of trust fraudently appropriating corporate property

Question 50

mail and wire fraud

Answer 50

using mail commerical carriers telephones television internet with intent to defraud public/consumers

Question 51

bribery

Answer 51

offering something of value in exchange for/ to exert illegal influence

Question 52

insider trading

Answer 52

occurs when an insider buys or sells securities based on nonpublic information tipping off someone else, and also illegal

Question 53

statute of limitations

Answer 53

the statutory time limit for prosecuting a crime has run

Question 54

immunity

Answer 54

defendant will not be prosecuted and in exchange waives 5th amendment right against self-incrimination