Vocab 1 Flashcards
A body of enforceable rules governing relationships among individuals and their society.
Law
The state of being legally responsible (liable) for something, such as a debt or obligation.
Liability
A document that establishes the law on a particular issue, such as a constitution, a statue, an administrative rule, or a court decision.
Primary Source of Law
A publication that summarizes or interprets the law, such as a legal encyclopedia, a legal treatise, or an article in a law review.
Secondary Source of Law
The body of law derived from the U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of the various states.
Constitutional Law
The body of law enacted by legislative bodies (as opposed to constitutional law, administrative law, or case law).
Statutory Law
A reference to a publication in which a legal authority- such as a statue or a court decision- or other source can be found.
Citation
A regulation enacted by a city or county legislative body that becomes part of that state’s statutory law.
Ordinance
A model law developed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws for the states to consider enacting into statue.
Uniform Law
The body of law created by administrative agencies in order to carry out their duties and responsibilities.
Administrative Law
A federal or state government agency created by the legislature to perform a specific function, such as to make and enforce rules pertaining to the environment.
Administrative Agency
A statute enacted by Congress that authorizes the creation of an administrative agency and specifies the name, composition, purpose, and powers of the agency being created.
Enabling Legislation
To render a judicial decision. The trail-like proceeding in which an administrative law judge hears and resolves disputes involving an administrative agency’s regulations.
Adjudicate
The procedure used by administrative agencies in administering the law.
Administrative Process
The process by which an administrative agency formally adopts a new regulation or amends an old one.
Rulemaking
An administrative agency rule that carries the same weight as a congressionally enacted statute.
Legislative Rule
A nonbinding rule or policy statement issued by an administrative agency that explains how it interprets and intends to apply the statutes it enforces.
Interpretive Rule
One who presides over an administrative agency hearing and has the power to administer oaths, take testimony, rule on questions of evidence, and make determinations of fact.
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)
The rules of law announced in court decisions. Case law interprets statutes, regulations, constitutional provisions, and other case law.
Case Law
The body of law developed from custom or judicial decisions in English and U.S. courts, not attributable to a legislature.
Common Law
A court decision that furnishes an example or authority for deciding subsequent cases involving identical or similar facts.
Precedent
A common law doctrine under which judges are obligated to follow the precedents established in prior decisions.
Stare Decisis
Any source of law that a court must follow when deciding a case.
Binding Authority
Any legal authority or source of law that a court may look to for guidance but need not follow when making its decision.
Persuasive Authority
The relief given to an innocent party to enforce a right or compensate for the violation of a right.
Remedy
One who initiates a lawsuit.
Plaintiff
General propositions or principals of law that have to do with fairness (equity).
Equitable Principals and Maxims
One against whom a lawsuit is brought or the accused person in a criminal proceeding.
Defendent
The science or philosophy of law.
Jurisprudence
The oldest school of legal thought, based on the belief that the legal system should reflect universal (“higher”) moral and ethical principals that are inherent in human nature.
Natural Law
A school of legal thought centered on the assumption that there is no law higher than the laws created by a national government. Laws must be obeyed, even if they are unjust, to prevent anarchy.
Legal Positivism
A school of legal thought that looks to the past to determine what the principals of contemporary law should be.
Historical School
A school of legal thought that holds that the law is only one factor to be considered when deciding cases and that social and economic circumstances should also be taken into account.
Legal Realism
Law that defines, describes, regulates, and creates legal rights and obligations.
Substantive Law
Law that establishes the methods of enforcing the rights established by substantive law.
Procedural Law
An informal term used to refer to all laws governing electronic communications and transactions, particularly those conducted via the internet.
Cyberlaw
The branch of law dealing with the definition and enforcement of all private or public rights, as opposed to criminal matters.
Civil Law
A system of law derived from Roman law that is based on codified laws (rather than on case precedents).
Civil Law System
The branch of law that defines and punishes wrongful actions committed against the public.
Criminal Law
Law that pertains to a particular nation (as opposed to international law).
National Law
The law that governs relations among nations.
International Law
A court opinion that represents the views of the majority (more than half) of the judges or justices deciding the case.
Majority Opinion
A court opinion by one or more judges or justices who agree with the majority but want to make or emphasize a point that was not made or emphasized in the majority’s opinion.
Concurring Opinion
A court opinion that presents the views of one or more judges or justices who disagree with the majority’s decision.
Dissenting Opinion
A court opinion that is joined by the largest number of the judges or justices hearing the case, but less than half of the total number.
Plurality Opinion
A court opinion that does not indicate which judge or justice authored the opinion.
Per Curiam Opinion
