Test 1 Flashcards
Common Law
Principles and rules of law that derive their authority not from legislation but from community usage and custom.
invasion of privacy
A civil tort that emerged in the early 20th century and contains four distinct categories of legal wrongs: appropriation, intrusion, publication of private facts and false light.
equity
A system of jurisprudence, distinct from common law, in which courts are empowered to decide cases on the basis of equity or fairness and are not bound by the rigid precedents that often exist in common law.
Damages
Money awarded to the winning party in a civil lawsuit.
statutory construction
The process undertaken by courts to interpret or construe the meaning of statutes.
Common law is also known as
Judge made law
Stare decisis
“Let the decision stand.” This concept is the operating principle in the common-law system and requires that judges follow precedent case law when making judgments
precedent
An established rule of law set by a previous case. Courts should follow precedent when it is advisable and possible.
Four options for following precedent
- Accept/follow
- Modify/update
- Distinguish
- Overrule
Typical remedies in Equity Law
- Temporary restraining order
- Preliminary Injunction
- Permanent Injunction
Equity Law
A system of jurisprudence, distinct from common law, in which courts are empowered to decide cases on the basis of equity or fairness and are not bound by the rigid precedents that often exist in common law.
judicial decree
A judgment of a court of equity; a declaration of the court announcing the legal consequences of the facts found to be true by the court.
Statutes
Laws adopted by legislative bodies.
Statutory Law
Law created by elected legislative bodies at the local, state, and federal level.
constitution
A written outline of the organization of a government that provides for both the rights and responsibilities of various branches of the government and the limits of the power of the government.
void for vagueness doctrine
A statute or regulation is unconstitutional if it is so vague that a person of reasonable and ordinary intelligence would not know, from looking at its terms, what speech is allowed and what speech is prohibited.
overbreadth doctrine
A statute or regulation will be declared unconstitutional if it sweeps up and bans a substantial amount of protected speech in the process of targeting unprotected speech; in other words, the doctrine prohibits the government from banning unprotected speech if a substantial amount of protected speech is prohibited or chilled in the same process.
administrative agency
An agency, created and funded by Congress, whose members are appointed by the president and whose function is to administer specific legislation, such as law regulating, broadcasting and advertising.
trial court
Normally the first court to hear a lawsuit. This court is the forum in which the facts are determined and the law is initially applied, as opposed to an appellate court, to which decisions are appealed.
appellate court
A court that has both original and appellate jurisdiction; a court to which cases are removed for an appeal.
original jurisdiction
Jurisdiction in the first instance, as distinguished from appellate jurisdiction. A court exercising original jurisdiction determines both the facts and the law in the case; courts exercising appellate jurisdiction may rule only on the law and the sufficiency of the facts as determined by a trial court.
direct appeal
The statutorily granted right of an aggrieved party to carry the appeal of a case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court can deny this right if the appeal lacks a substantial federal question.
writ of certiorari
A writ by which an appellant seeks the review of a case by the U.S. Supreme Court. When the writ is granted, the court will order the lower court to send up the record of the case for review.
petitioner
One who petitions a court to take an action; someone who starts a lawsuit or carries an appeal to a higher court (appellant). This person is the opposite of a respondent, one who responds to a petition.
rule of four
At least four justices of the U.S. Supreme Court must agree to hear a case before a petition for a writ of certiorari will be granted.
split of authority
A disagreement among lower courts on the same legal issue.
Opinion of the court
Majority Opinion
concurring opinion
A written opinion by an appellate judge or justice in which the author agrees with the decision of the court but normally states reasons different from those in the court opinion as the basis for his or her decision.
dissenting opinion
A written opinion by a judge or justice who disagrees with the appellate court’s decision in a case.
plurality opinion
A Supreme Court opinion in which five justices cannot agree on a single majority opinion—there is no opinion of the court—but that is joined by more justices than any other opinion in the case.
strict scrutiny
The standard of judicial review for content-based statutes, requiring the government to prove that it has a compelling interest (an interest of the highest order) in regulating the speech at issue and that the means of serving that interest are narrowly tailored such that no more speech is restricted than is necessary to serve the allegedly compelling interest.
intermediate scrutiny
The standard of judicial review for content-neutral laws, such as time, place and manner regulations, that requires the government to prove that the regulation is content neutral; justified by a substantial interest; not a complete ban on communication; and narrowly tailored.
per curiam opinion
An unsigned court opinion. The author of the opinion is not known outside the court.
prior restraint
Prepublication censorship that forbids publication or broadcast of certain objectionable material, as opposed to punishment of a perpetrator after the material has been published or broadcast.
