Business Law Chapter 4: Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Judiciary

The body of American law includes the federal and state constitutions, statutes passed by legislative bodies, administrative law, and the case decisions and legal principles that form common law.

Judicial Review

The process by which courts decide on the constitutionality of legislative enactments and actions of the executive branch.

Marbury v. Madison

The case in which the United States Supreme Court explicitly established the power of judicial review in 1803.

Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case and decide a specific action.

Basic Requirements to Bring a Lawsuit

include: jurisdiction, venue, and standing to sue.

Standing to Sue

The legal right to initiate a lawsuit, which requires that the party bringing the suit has a sufficient connection to the law or action challenged.

Venue

The geographic location where a lawsuit should be tried, determined by the location of the parties or events involved.

Checks and Balances

A system established by the U.S. Constitution that ensures that no one branch of government becomes too powerful.

Federal Courts

Courts that have jurisdiction over cases involving federal law, disputes between states, and cases involving foreign governments.

State Courts

Courts that have jurisdiction over cases involving state law and matters not specifically reserved for federal courts.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Methods of resolving disputes outside of the traditional judicial process, including mediation and arbitration.

Mediation

A form of alternative dispute resolution where a neutral third party helps the disputing parties reach a mutually agreeable solution.

Arbitration

A form of alternative dispute resolution where a neutral third party makes a binding decision to resolve a dispute.

Domestic Dispute Resolution Methods

Methods used to resolve disputes within a country, typically involving state or federal courts.

International Dispute Resolution Methods

Methods used to resolve disputes that cross international borders, often involving international arbitration or treaties.

Common Law

Law that is derived from judicial decisions instead of from statutes.

Administrative Law

The body of law that regulates the activities of administrative agencies of government.

Case Decisions

Judicial interpretations of law that serve as precedents for future cases.

Constitutionality

The quality of being in accordance with a political constitution or with procedural rules.

Executive Branch

The branch of government responsible for implementing and enforcing laws.

Dispute

A disagreement or conflict between parties that may lead to legal action.

In personam jurisdiction

Court jurisdiction over the 'person' involved in a legal action; personal jurisdiction.

In rem jurisdiction

Court jurisdiction over a defendant's property.

Long arm statute

A state statute that permits a state to obtain personal jurisdiction over nonresident defendants.

Minimum contacts

A requirement that a defendant must have sufficient connections with a state for a long arm statute to apply.

Corporate jurisdiction

A corporation is subject to personal jurisdiction in the state in which it is incorporated, has its principal office, and/or is doing business.

General jurisdiction

Jurisdiction that allows courts to hear a wide range of cases; typically found in state trial courts and federal district courts.

Limited jurisdiction

Jurisdiction that restricts the types of cases a court can hear, such as probate and bankruptcy courts.

Probate court

A state court of limited jurisdiction that conducts proceedings relating to the settlement of a deceased person's estate.

Bankruptcy court

A federal court of limited jurisdiction that handles only bankruptcy proceedings.

Jurisdiction over subject matter

A limitation on the types of cases a court can hear, defined by statute or constitution.

Original jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case for the first time.

Appellate jurisdiction

The authority of a court to review the decisions of lower courts.

Federal question

A question that pertains to the U.S. Constitution, acts of Congress, or treaties.

Diversity of citizenship

A basis for federal court jurisdiction over a lawsuit between citizens of different states or between a foreign country and citizens of a state.

Jurisdiction in Cyberspace

The courts have developed a "sliding-scale" standard to determine when they can exercise personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant based on the defendant's web activities.

Substantial

When the defendant conducts ________ online business, jurisdiction is proper.

Interactivity Through a Website

When there is some ______________, jurisdiction may be proper, depending on the circumstances.

Passive

When a defendant merely engages in ______ advertising, jurisdiction is never proper.

International Jurisdictional Issues

Being international in scope, the internet raises _________________.

Civil Case Venue

Where the defendant resides or does business.

Criminal Case Venue

Where the crime occurred.

Harm

The party bringing the action must have suffered _____—an invasion of a legally protected interest—or must face imminent ____.

Causation

There must be a causal connection between the conduct complained of and the injury.

Remedy

It must be likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that a favorable court decision will _____ the injury suffered.

Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

Courts that have authority to hear only specific types of cases.

Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction

Courts that can hear a wide range of cases.

Appellate Courts

Intermediate appellate courts that review decisions made by lower courts.

Trial Courts

Courts in which trials are held and testimony is taken.

Question of Fact

An issue involving a factual dispute that can be decided by a judge or a jury.

Question of Law

An issue involving the application or interpretation of a law, which can only be decided by a judge.

U.S. District Courts

The federal equivalent of a state trial court of general jurisdiction, with at least one in every state.

U.S. Courts of Appeals

Thirteen courts in the federal court system that hear appeals from the federal district courts located within their respective judicial circuits.

Lifetime

Federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, receive _____ appointments under Article III of the U.S. Constitution.

State Trial Courts

Courts that have jurisdiction over both civil disputes and criminal prosecutions.

Intermediate Appellate Court

A type of appellate court that may exist in a state, which hears appeals from lower courts.

Final

The decisions of each state's highest court on all questions of state law are ______.

U.S. Supreme Court

The highest court in the United States, which can overrule decisions made by a state's highest court only when issues of federal law are involved.

Panel of Judges

A group of three or more judges that hears arguments in an appellate court.

Civil Disputes

Legal disagreements between parties that are resolved in trial courts.

Criminal Prosecutions

Legal proceedings against individuals accused of committing crimes, handled in trial courts.

Minor Judiciary Courts

Courts with limited jurisdiction that handle specific types of cases, often referred to as courts of limited jurisdiction. ie drug courts

Factual Dispute

A disagreement over the facts of a case that needs resolution in a court.

Application of Law

The process of interpreting and enforcing laws in legal proceedings.

Judicial Circuits

The divisions within the federal court system that determine the jurisdiction of U.S. courts of appeals.

Confirmed by the U.S. Senate

The process by which federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, are appointed by the president and must be _____________.

Federal Circuit

The Court of Appeals for the Thirteenth Circuit, which has national appellate jurisdiction over certain types of cases, including those involving patent law and those in which the U.S. government is a defendant.

Binding

Decisions made by the Federal Circuit that are ________ on all courts within the circuit court's jurisdiction.

United States Supreme Court

The highest level of three-tiered federal court system, consisting of nine justices.

Inferior Courts

All other courts in the federal system that are considered lower than the United States Supreme Court.

Appellate Authority

The power of the Supreme Court to review any case decided by any of the federal courts of appeals.

Final Authority

The Supreme Court's role as the ultimate decision-maker on the Constitution and federal law.

Writ of Certiorari

A writ from a higher court asking the lower court for the record of a case.

Rule of Four

A rule under which the United States Supreme Court will not issue a writ of certiorari unless at least four justices agree to do so.

Discretion of the Court

The Supreme Court's authority to decide whether to issue a writ of certiorari, with most petitions being denied.

Denial of Certiorari

A denial means that the lower court's decision remains the law in that jurisdiction and is not a decision on the merits of the case.

Shadow Docket

Unofficially called the ______, it refers to decisions made without hearings and almost always without comments by any of the nine justices.

Orders List

The official name for decisions made by the Supreme Court without hearings.

Emergency Appeals

Requests from parties that believe they will be unrecoverably harmed without a rapid response, such as condemned criminals attempting to stay their executions.

Decision Timeline

Typically, there is only a week between an application and a decision on emergency appeals.

Criticism of Shadow Docket

decisions made lack accountability and transparency.

votes secret

Justices can affirm or deny a request for a shadow-docket hearing and can keep their ______ if they wish.

Litigation

The process of resolving a dispute through the court system.

Alternative dispute resolution (A D R)

The resolution of disputes in ways other than those involved in the traditional judicial process.

attorneys to represent them.

Negotiation is a process in which parties attempt to settle their dispute without going to court, with or without __________.

Mediator

A neutral third party who acts as a communicating agent between the parties and suggests ways in which the parties can resolve their dispute.

Nonbinding arbitration

A type of arbitration where the parties can go forward with a lawsuit if they do not agree with the arbitrator's decision.

Advantages of A D R

Parties can decide what procedures will be used, whether a neutral third party will be present, and whether the decision will be legally binding or nonbinding.

Privacy

A D R offers more ______ than court proceedings.

Speed of A D R

A D R allows disputes to be resolved relatively quickly.

Adversarial

Mediation is less _____ than litigation, reducing antagonism between disputants.

Formal arbitration

Resembles a trial where parties present opening arguments, evidence, and may call and examine witnesses.

Binding

The arbitrator renders a decision which may or may not be legally ______.

Negotiation

________ usually involves just the parties themselves and (typically) their attorneys.

Role of the mediator

To emphasizes points of agreement and helps parties evaluate their options.

mediation is often preferred

for disputes between business partners, employers and employees, and other parties involved in long-term relationships.

Res judicata

Bars relitigation of claims that have been finally adjudicated.

Award

The arbitrator's decision.

Arbitration clause

A clause in a contract that provides that, in the event of a dispute, the parties will submit the dispute to arbitration rather than litigate the dispute in court.

Arbitration statutes

Most states have _______ (often based, in part, on the Uniform Arbitration Act) under which arbitration clauses will be enforced.