Exam 3 Chapter 5 & 6 Terms and case holdings

Question 1

tier of fact

Answer 1

Also called factfinder; the entity that determines fact in a trial. In a jury trial, the jury is entrusted with factfinding; in a bench trial, the judge necessarily must find the facts as well as make conclusions of law.

Question 2

verdict

Answer 2

The factfinding by a jury. For example, in a civil case, the jury might find the defendant liable in a dollar amount; in a criminal case, the verdict is usually guilty or not guilty of each criminal charge.

Question 3

judgement

Answer 3

The official decision of a court about the rights and claims of each side in a lawsuit; usually a final decision after trail based on finding of fact and making conclusions of law.

Question 4

question of law

Answer 4

A question for the judge; that is, a question as to the appropriate law to be applied, or correct interpretation of the law

Question 5

appellate court substitutes its judgement

Answer 5

The standard of review of conclusions of the law made by a lower court.

Question 6

question (issue) of fact

Answer 6

A question for the jury in a jury trial or for the judge in a bench trial. Fact questions are evidentiary questions concerning who, when, where, and what.

Question 7

clearly erroneous

Answer 7

The test or standard used at the appellate level to determine if judicial factfinding at trial constitutes prejudicial error. Highly deferential toward the trial court.

Question 8

with substantial evidence

Answer 8

The test or standard used at the appellate level to determine if jury factfinding at trial constitutes prejudicial error. Often used interchangeably with clearly erroneous.

Question 9

trial

Answer 9

A judicial examination, in accordance with the law, of a criminal or civil action. It is an “on-the-record hearing,” which means the determination is to be made on the basis of what is presented in court. It is a trial of fact with judgement entered on the law.

Question 10

record

Answer 10

All the evidence presented at trial, whether or not recorded

Question 11

jury instructions

Answer 11

detailed directions (instructions) given by the judge to the jury about its functions in the lawsuit.

Question 12

trial court

Answer 12

lower court judges must act on a number of problems that are not truly adversarial in nature but that require orders from a court.

Question 13

appellate court

Answer 13

As distinguished from trial courts, courts that function primarily correct errors of the lower, trial courts and do not ordinarily serve as factfinders. The two common forms of appellate courts are intermediate appellate courts, usually called court court of appeal(s), and the highest courts, usually called supreme courts.

Question 14

appellant

Answer 14

The party bringing an appeal against the other party, the appellee

Question 15

appellee

Answer 15

the party against whom an appeal is brought

Question 16

court of last resort

Answer 16

Florida supreme court

Question 17

• need to know for exam

Answer 17

The appellate process is quite different from trial. The appellate court does not retry facts, nor does it call witnesses. It receives a record from the trial court, which includes a written transcript of the testimony at trial, exhibits introduced during trial, copies of the pleadings and motions filed with the court before and during trial, and written briefs submitted by the attorneys for appellant and appellee arguing that issues raised on appeal.

Question 18

preemption

Answer 18

The principal or doctrine that federal statues that overlap or are in conflict with state statutes will take precedence and prevail (be preferred), even to the point of invalidating state statues entirely.

Question 19

Supreme law of the land

Answer 19

neither state nor federal legislatures could enact laws in conflict with the Constitution, nor could any official agency of government act in violation of the Constitution.

Question 20

procedural due process

Answer 20

Due process that is concerned with the fairness if notice and hearing provided by government in the adjudication of rights and duties

Question 21

substantive due process

Answer 21

requires that legislation be reasonable, that it have a legitimate purpose, that it use reasonable means to effect a reasonable end, and so on.

Question 22

equal protection of laws

Answer 22

A constitutional guaranty specifying that every state must give equal treatment to every person who is similarly situated or to persons who are members of the same class; this protection is a requirement of the Fourteenth Amendment, originally enacted to protect former slaves.

Question 23

standing

Answer 23

A person’s right to bring a lawsuit because he or her is directly affected by the issues presented, having a stake in the outcome of the suit.

Question 24

cases and controversy

Answer 24

actual disputes between real parties

Question 25

full faith and credit

Answer 25

The Constitution requires that each sate respect the legal pronouncements of sister states, “Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state” (Article IV)

Question 26

subject matter jurisdiction

Answer 26

The jurisdiction of a court to hear and determine the type of case before it. Example: in Florida, election contests are heard in the circuit court but not in county court. The reference to Leon County in “the Circuit court of Leon County” refers only to the court – it is a circuit court, not a county court.

Question 27

general jurisdiction

Answer 27

have authority to decide a wide variety of cases and apply the full range of judicial remedy and relief

Question 28

limited jurisdiction

Answer 28

handle only a restricted class of cases. A probate court for example, handles matter concerning decedents’ estates.

Question 29

federal question cases

Answer 29

issues in cases arising under the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States, over which federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction

Question 30

diversity if citizenship cases

Answer 30

The subject matter jurisdiction of federal courts to hear cases between citizens of different states.

Question 31

conflict of law/choice of law

Answer 31

Concerns the problem that arises when there is a question about which state’s law should apply in particular case.

Question 32

*Must know this for exam

Answer 32

Erie has been applied to substantive law but not procedure - when suing in federal court, federal procedure is followed.

Question 33

legal remedy

Answer 33

a remedy under the common law, as distinguished from an equitable remedy

Question 34

significant relationship test

Answer 34

the modern rule followed in a conflict-of-laws setting; it is used in both tort and contract contexts and makes the court apply the law of the state that had the most “significant relationship” to the cause of action.

Question 35

equitable remedy

Answer 35

a special remedy, such as in injunction or specific performance not available at common law

Question 36

clean hands doctrine

Answer 36

An equitable maxim according to which a court of equity will refuse to provide a remedy to a petitioner who has acted in bad faith (with “unclean hands”).

Question 37

statute of limitations

Answer 37

A federal or state law that specifies time limits within which suits must be filed for civil and criminal actions; they vary from state to state and from action to action.

Question 38

laches

Answer 38

An equitable principle roughly equivilant to a statute of limitations at common law; it prevents a party from bringing a petition (suit) when there has been unreasonable delay in doing so.

Question 39

memorandum decisions (per curiam opinion)

Answer 39

A court’s decision that gives the ruling (what it decides and orders done) but no opinion (reasons for he decision). A memorandum opinion is the same as per curiam opinion without a named author, usually a brief and unanimous decision.

Question 40

punitive damages

Answer 40

Sometimes awarded beyond mere compensation to punish a defendant for outrageous conduct in tort

Question 41

compensatory damages

Answer 41

Amount awarded to an injured party to make her whole; that is, in tort, to compensate for all injuries, and in contract, to put the nonbreaching party in the position he would have been in if the contract had been preformed.

Question 42

substitution of judgement

Answer 42

law- None, appellate court “substitutes its judgement” for that of trial court

Question 43

Clearly erroneous

Answer 43

fact- Great deference – This is commonly applied to the trial judge’s factfinding

Question 44

Substantial evidence

Answer 44

fact- Great deference – When referring to jury factfinding, appellate courts rarely overturn finding of fact.

Question 45

commerce clause

Answer 45

gives Congress power to regulate interstate commerce

Question 46

plaintiff

Answer 46

A plaintiff is the person who initiates a court action by filing a complaint with the clerk of the court against the defendant(s) demanding damages, performance and/or court determination of the rights. Sometimes called a petitioner.

Question 47

defendant

Answer 47

a defendant is any person accused (charged) of committing an offense (a crime)