MGMT 311 Hailey (non-honors) - Exam 1

Law consists of

enforceable rules governing relationships among individuals and between individuals and their society

Four Sources of Law

-Constitutions

-Statutes (Acts)

-Administrative Rules/Regs

-Common Law

Constitutions

establish organization, powers, and limits of governments

Statutory Law (Acts)

Law passed by the U.S. Congress or state legislatures

-Federal statutes: apply to everyone nationwide

-State statutes: apply only to people within borders of the state

-Found in federal and state code of laws (divided by subject)

(Ex: Civil Rights Act)

-Cannot violate constitutional law

Administrative Law

-can have local, state, or federal agencies

Common Law

-created by interpreting the other 3 types

-case law

-judge made law

Doctrine of Stare Decisis

"to stand on decided cases"

-other thing William the Conqueror created

-use of precedent (similar past cases) that judges are obligated to follow if established by a higher court in their jurisdiction

Functions of Stare Decisis

-Accomplishes court efficiency

-Creates a more just and uniform system

-Makes the law stable and predictable

-Allows us to use lessons from the past

Binding Precedent

Must follow

Persuasive Precedent

Use other similar cases from other jurisdictions to settle precedences

Departures from Precedent

-Ruling is incorrect in the precedent

-Outdated or interpretation has changed

ex. Brown v. Board of Education overruled Plessy v. Ferguson

Cases of First Impression

There is no legal precedent on which to base a decision, can look at other jurisdictions but are not binding

Factors used when court is faced w/ case of first impression or when conflicting precedents exist

1. Persuasive precedent

2. Legal principals and policies underlying previous court decisions and current statutes

3. Fairness

4. Social values and customs

5. Public policy

6. Social science data

Most common law classification systems

- Substantive vs. Procedural

- Public vs. Private (who the parties are in the case)

- Civil vs. Criminal

Substantive

-define and describe your rights

-refer to subject areas of law

Procedural

-how you pursue enforcing your rights under substantive law

ex. Miranda Rights

Public

involve the government

Private

don't involve the government

Civil

involve the rights b/w people or b/w people and their government in non-criminal matters

Criminal

involve wrongs committed against the public as a whole

Remedies in Equity

Only available if legal remedies are inadequate, when case cannot be solved with money

In Personam Jurisdiction

-jurisdiction over the person

-individuals reside in the state they live in

-businesses reside in the state where they're created and where they do most of their business

Long Arm Jurisdiction

-non-residents

-must have "minimum contacts" with the state

ex. for individuals: they injure someone within the state, they breach or form a contract within the state, or they come to the state regularly to do business

ex. for corporations: they do business in the state, they advertise or sell products within the state, or they place goods in the "stream of commerce" with expectation of purchase by residents of the state

In Rem Jurisdiction

-jurisdiction over the property

-not common or preferred, used if in personam does not work

-defendant is always non-resident

1. used in disputes where the property is the subject matter of the controversy

2. property must be within area in which court sits (court's territorial jurisdiction)

3. allows party to file an action against a non-resident personally in a court that can exercise jurisdiction over the non-resident's property

4. used when long-arm cannot be established over the non-resident

Courts of General Jurisdiction

hear many types of cases

Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

hear a specific type of case

Courts' subject matter jurisdiction is defined by statute or constitutional provision creating the court and can be limited by

1. subject of the lawsuit

2. amount of money in controversy

3. if criminal, seriousness of the crime

4. whether it's a trial or an appeal

Original Jurisidiction

how we describe the court's power the very first time a case is heard

Appellate Jurisdiction

how we refer to a court that is reviewing what happened

Jurisdiction of Federal Courts

1. federal question: question of law rooted in federal sources

2. diversity of citizenship: 2 requirements - plaintiff & defendant must be citizens/residents of different states AND the dollar amount in controversy must exceed $75,000

Concurrent Jurisdiction

case could be filed in both federal and state courts

Exclusive Jurisdiction

exclusive to either federal or state courts

Venue

-the geographic location within the jurisdiction that is most appropriate for the trial to take place

-venue is proper where the defendant resides or the cause of action occurs

-court can still hear case even if venue not proper there

-incumbent on parties to request a change

Court can change venue for

1. arguing we can't get a fair trial in this location

2. convenience of the parties (requires significant cost burden)

To have standing to sue, one must have

1. a sufficient "stake" in a controversy - plaintiff must have legally protected interest at stake and harmed or threatened AND

2. a "justiciable controversy" - "ripe" for judicial review which is real and non-hypothetical

3 Alternate Forms of Dispute Resolution

1. negotiation

2. mediation

3. arbitration

negotiation

come up w/ resolution together

mediation

doesn't decide case, just facilitates discussion b/w parties; equitable

arbitration

arbitrator decides case instead of judge, but still like a trial

Motion to Dismiss

often filed when there's something wrong with the plaintiff's case

Motion for judgment on the pleadings

asking judge to read case and make a judgement; very rare

Motion for summary judgement

- no disagreement on facts

- judge can use evidence other than pleadings (discovery, sworn affidavits, certified documents)

- only granted if no genuine questions of fact exist and only question is a question of law

Five Tools of Discovery

1. Depositions (can be used for sworn testament)

2. Interrogations

3. Requests for Admissions (admit or deny: prove that it's not true)

4. Requests for Documents and Other Tangible Things

5. Request for Physical or Mental Examinations (must be an issue in the case)

Jury Selection

- use questions to rule people out

County/Local: 6 selected

District: 12 selected

U.S. Constitution

-supreme law of the land

-creates national government

-10th amendment reserves all powers not granted to federal government to states

State Constitutions

-Create state governments

-highest form of law within borders of that state

-subject to state constitution

Ordinances

-form of statutory law that applies to municipal or county governments

-govern matters not covered by state or federal laws

-cannot violate constitutions

Uniform Laws

-form of statutory law

-model statutes for states to consider adopting

-an attempt to create uniformity in a subject area

-state legislatures can accept or reject

-if adopted, law becomes part of statutory law

Uniform Commercial Code

most accepted uniform law, for commercial sales contracts

FDA, SEC, EPA

examples of administrative agencies

Agency functions

to make rules, to investigate & enforce, and to judge of their rules

Common Law History

-norman invasion of 1066

-William the Conqueror created stare decisis and early courts

Early Courts at Law

-"king's court"

-hear civil cases where remedy was something of value

-created by William the Conqueror

Legal Remedies

what you win or lose in monetary damages, money is remedy is possible

Compensatory Damages

-designed to restore plaintiff

-Special damages

-General damages

-most cases only get compensatory

Special Damages

-quantifiable

-loss of time (earnings)

-loss of money (medical bills)

-property damages (damage to car)

General Damages

-type where you can have difference of opinion

-pain and suffering (physical)

-injury to reputation (defamation)

-mental anguish (emotions)

-disfigurement (lost arm)

-loss of earning capacity (ability to earn in future)

Punitive/Exemplary Damages

-legal remedies meant to punish wrongdoer

-given in addition to compensatory

Nominal Damages

A small monetary award (often one dollar) granted to a plaintiff when no actual damage was suffered

Specific Performance

-type of equitable remedy

-breach of contract situation

-court order requiring breaching party to perform contract as promised

-item in contract must be over 1-of-a-kind item (Ex: land)

injunction

-an authoritative warning or order for someone to perform an act of stop performing an act

-temporary: prior to litigation

-permanent: after litigation

Rescission

termination of contract

Equitable Maxims

guiding principles that help courts fashion remedies

Legal/Ethical Remedies today

judges are doing similar things as in the past

Precedent

similar past cases, high courts have power to overrule

Departures from precedent

-if it was incorrect

-if it is outdated

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Established separate but equal is constitutional

Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

declared that separate but equal is unconstitutional, overturned the precedent and ordered all public schools desegregated

Legal Reasoning (IRAC)

Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion

No one right answer sometimes

1. good arguments can be made on both sides

2. laws can be flexibly interpreted

3. personal beliefs and moral philosophies play a role

-ALWAYS/NEVER are very rare

Common Law Today

restatements cover common law in subject areas

Classifications of Law

numerous ways to classify, not mutually exclusive

Main Purpose of Civil Law

compensation

Main Purpose of Criminal Law

punishment

Burden of Proof in Civil Law

plaintiff "by a preponderance of evidence"

Burden of Proof in Criminal Law

state "beyond a reasonable doubt"

Civil Law Parties

Plaintiff vs Defendant

Criminal Law Parties

State vs Defendant

Trial Court Terminology

Plaintiff v. Defendant

Trial Court where party suing is not asking for damages

Petitioner and Respondent

Appellant

party appealing

appellee

party who won at trial and defends against appeal

High Court Petitioner

party appealing

High Court Respondent

won at court of appeals and defends against petition to Supreme Court

Advantage of opinion issued by reviewing

More opinions mean more precedents

Unanimous Opinion

all members of appellate/high court agree, very strong precedent

Majority Opinion

majority of justices agree on the who and the why and join in reasoning

Concurring Opinion

separate opinion but agree on outcome and not reasoning, broadens precedent

Dissenting Opinion

separate opinion because judge disagrees with majority

Plurality Opinion

A court opinion that results when a majority of justices agree on a decision in a case but do not agree on the legal basis for the decision. In this instance, the legal position held by most of the justices on the winning side is called a plurality opinion.

Per Curiam Opinion

a brief, unsigned court opinion

Federal Form of Government

-power is divided between national and state governments

-partnership between national and state governments

Sovereignty

power for states to govern themselves stems from the 10th amendment

Police Powers

right of state governments to regulate private activities to protect or promote the public order, health, safety, morals, and general welfare

Privileges and Immunities Clause

prevents a state from treating citizens of other states in a discriminatory manner (as long as they are engaging in basic and essential activities like earning a living or access to housing) unless the foreign state has a substantial reason for treating nonresidents differently from its own residents

Full Faith and Credit Clause

rights established under deeds, wills, and contracts will be honored in other states, applies only to civil matters, all public records are public in every state

Separation of powers

Legislative, Executive, Judicial

Commerce Clause

-1 of strongest powers federal government has

-federal power that regulates commerce with foreign nations and between states

-expansion of federal power

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

federal government can regulate intrastate if the commerce concerns more than one state

Wickard v. Filburn (1942)

farmer's crop production to be used wholly for consumption on his farm was subject to federal regulation because it affected interstate commerce (Supply/demand in state)