Law Midterm 1 Flashcards
Law
body of rules of action/conduct prescribed by a controlling authority with binding legal force that must be obeyed by individuals, bus., and other org. w/in a society
Sources of law in U.S.
- U.S. Constitution (Supremacy Clause)
- State Constitutions
- Federal and State statutes
- Ordinances
- Administrative agency rules and regulations
- Executive orders
- Judicial decisions by state and federal courts
- Treaties
U.S. law is also FLEXIBLE - changes over time as society norms, tech. and commerce grows and expands in U.S. and world
English common law
law developed by judges you issued their opinions when deciding a case - when Am. colonies first settled, Am. judges used prior English case decision as a precedent for American law
- -common law applies today where not replaced by statute
- –collection of law that we started with when we broke off from England
- —Gather all previous court decisions that have been made and put together
- law courts
- chancery (equity courts)
- merchant courts
Constitutions
U.S. constitution is the supreme law of the land - SUPREMACY CLAUSE
- -any law that conflicts is unconstitutional and unenforceable
- -“living document”
legislative = power to make (enact) law executive = power to enforce law (executive orders) judicial = power to interpret and determine validity of law --judicial = case law
codified law
statutes
- –Federal, state, and local (ordinances)
- –written laws enacted by legislative branch of fed and state gov. that establishes certain courses of conduct that covered parties must adhere to
- -Congress empowered by constitution to enact statutes
- -formed in CODE BOOKS = codified law
in criminal law = statutes are the primary source
statute of limitations: req. injured person to bring action based on date of injury
statute of repose: req. injured person to bring action based on date product was sold
stare decisis
similar cases should be decided consistently
–binding v. persuasive authority
==binding v. persuasive authority
–cases of first impression - public policy (Supreme Court)
ex. “no hitting” law under 2 diff. situations
principle that a decision today should be consistent with decisions that have already been made in the past by other courts
- –vertical – so if I’m in Utah…I don’t have to follow decisions that have been made by court of Idaho
- –but DO have to follow decisions by US federal court, Utah court of appeals, etc.
Administrative law
come from state and Fed agencies, security and exchange commission
—When legislative body creates them…gives us a set of laws that we are held accountable too
case law
comes from judges making decisions over time
- –Judges decisions in past become precedent for future decisions - be consistent with previous decisions that have been made
- –Ex. in class - Utopia and the no-hitting statute
- –Right of privacy not stated in Constitution - based off cases
Types of Judicial Decisions
—Unanimous decisions
—Majority decision - if at least 5 of the courts agree
—Plurality opinions - 5 of the judges believe who should win, but don’t agree on WHY
Know the rule of 4 in Supreme Court - in order to hear your case, at least 4 of the 9 justices must agree that it is worthy of being heard
Civil v. criminal
Parties are different
—-Criminal = government against defendant, civil = private parties
Purpose is different
—Criminal law = looking for punishment, civil = looking for compensation to the injured party - $
Standard of proof is different
—Criminal case = must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, civil = must prove by preponderance of evidence (more likely than not, or greater than 50%) - tipping scales just enough in your favor
civil
- -specific jury vote (9 of 12)
- -criminal - need unanimous
Ch. 2 - in order to go to federal court under CLAIM OF DIVERSITY OF CITIZENSHIP 2 things must occur:
- Cases btwn citizens of diff. states or btwn a citizen of state and a citizen of a foreign country - bring them across state lines
- controversy must exceed $75,000 for the federal court to hear the case
6 types of cases that MUST go to federal courts - only these 6 are EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION
–HAVE to go to federal court and cannot do other courts
Constitutional questions are NOT one of them - not exclusive to federal courts
- admiralty law - least IMP.
- antitrust - MOST IMP. - also called competition laws - statues created by gov. to stop unfair competition in businesses practices - make sure monopolies don’t exist!!
- bankruptcy
- federal crimes
- patents and trademarks
- cases against the U.S. gov.
marijuana ex. from slides - not under exclusive jurisdiction so can go to the state courts
federal jurisdiction vs. state
federal jurisdiction - only 2 types
- –federal question OR
- –diversity jurisdiction - diff. state and ABOVE $75k
exclusive vs. concurrent
—ONLY in federal courts or state courts - otherwise cases can start in either system - EVEN constitutional cases
things that are exclusive to state courts
–family law, divorce, custody, probate (will, testament)
state court judges are orig. appointed and later elected
–federal judges are appointed for LIFE
full faith and credit clause
if one state court rules in your favor…and maybe the property is in another state - you can go to another state and bring how the orig. state rules - even if the other states policy doesn’t follow that - the second state must honor it
a judgment in one court of one state must be given “full faith and credit” by courts of another state
standing to sue
are these the right parties?
—can’t file in someone else’s behalf - if you don’t have a stake in the outcome (Even if it is your brother in law that was wronged) - your brother in law needs to be the one to file
standing to sue - having a stake in the outcome of a lawsuit
is this a real controversy?
- –court doesn’t give advisory opinions -can’t give legal opinions…go get advice from attorneys
- -court doesn’t answer your hypotheticals
personal jurisdiction (in personam)
property jurisdiction
venue
in personam - jurisdiction over the parties to a lawsuit
due process - fair treatment through the judicial system
property jurisdiction
- -in rem
- -quasi in rem - if you get a judgment in one state…you can bring that ruling to a property in another state and they have to honor it
Venue - where it is most convenient - where are the witnesses? Where is evidence? - will never lose case bc of lack of venue
Forum selection and choice of law provisions - you can choose where the case will be filed
long-arm statute – extends a state’s jurisdiction to nonresidents who were not served a summons within the state — court grabs a resident in Idaho and makes them come to Utah court
—if car accident (torts) committed in that state, they have a contract in that state, or have done business in that state that injured ppl there
state court systems
- limited jurisdiction trial courts (inferior trial courts)
hear specialized or limited issues
○ Ex. Traffic courts, juvenile, justice of the peace, probate, family law courts, misdemeanor criminal law
○ Trial courts - use evidence and testimonies - general jurisdiction trial courts (courts of record)
- –cases outside jurisdiction of limited courts - felonies or civil cases of large dollar amts.
- -usually divided into criminal and civil cases - intermediate appellate courts
- -hear appeals from trial courts - try to reverse trial court’s decision - highest state court - state supreme court
- -hear appeals from intermediate appellate courts and trial courts
federal court system
the U.S. supreme court
–special federal courts of limited jurisdiction - tax court, federal claims (claims against US Gov.), court of international trade, bankruptcy, appeals for armed forces and veterans
U.S. district courts - trial courts with general jurisdiction
U.S. court of appeals - federal court system’s intermediate appallate courts
highest court in the land is the U.S. supreme court in D.C.
- -the PRESIDENT appoints one justice as JUSTICE OF SUPREME COURT
- –the supreme court is an appellate court - hears appeals from federal courts of appeals, federal district courts, highest state courts, and special federal courts
4 decisions of U.S. Supreme court
each justice of supreme court including chief justice has an equal vote
- unanimous decision
- -if all judges agree
- -unanimous decision becomes precedent for later cases - all 9 agree - majority decision
- -5, 6, 7, or 8 justices vote for the SAME outcome for the SAME reason
- -becomes precedent for later cases and has the same force of law as a unanimous decision - PLURALITY decision
- -majority of justices agree on the outcome but NOT FOR THE REASON
- -settles the case but is not precedent for later cases - Tie decision
- –if a justice is sick and doesn’t make it to the case so there is only 8 and it ends in a tie
concurring opinion — justice who agrees on the outcome of a case but not the reason sets forth reasons for deciding the case
dissenting opinion - who does not agree with a decision - puts forth opinion
federal question
diversity of citizenship
federal question - cases arising under U.S. constitution, treaties, and federal statutes and regulations - no dollar amt. limit for federal question cases that can be brought to federal court
–any issue with federal law or statues - lets you go to federal court but DOES NOT require you to
diversity of citizenship
- -cases btwn citizens of diff. states or btwn citizen of state and citizen of foreign country
- –be greater than $75,000 for federal court to hear the case
states have concurrent jurisdiction with federal courts to hear cases involving diversity of citizenship or federal questions over which fed. courts do not have exclusive jurisdiction
rule of 4 in supreme court
in order to hear your case, at least 4 of the 9 justices must agree that it is worthy of being heard
civil v. criminal
parties are diff.
- –criminal = gov. against defendant
- -civil = private parties
purpose is diff.
- –criminal = looking for punishment
- –civil = looking for compensation to injured party $
standard of proof is diff.
- -criminal = must prove beyond a reasonable doubt
- -civil = must prove by preponderance of evidence (more likely than not or greater than 50%) - tipping scales just enough in your favor
