BU315 - Ch. 1 Legal Foundations

baby bones of legal businessness

Law

Rules of conduct with binding force, prescribed by controlling authority

Jurisprudence

The science and philosophy of law

Black’s Law Dictionary

The authoritative source for legal terms

Counsel

Another term for attorney

Constitutional Law

The body of law interpreting state and federal constitutions, supreme law of the land. Establishes structure for gov’t and grants enumerated powers, est. federalism, est. civil rights and procedural protections.

Statutory Law

Body of law created by legislature and approved by executive branch of state and federal government

Common Law

“Judge-made law” - made by the courts and based on the fundamentals of previous cases with similar facts

Administrative Law

“Agency Regulations” - laws that govern creation, organization, and operation of administration agencies

Ordinances

Written laws at the local level ex. regulations on local restaurants

Plain meaning rule

If the words in a statute have clear and widely understood meaning, then the court will apply the rule. This is the basis for interpreting statutes.

Statutory Scheme

The structure of the statute and the format of its mandates in a law

Citation - where the statutory law can be found

Legislative history

The records kept by the legislature, including the debates, committee and conference reports, and legislative findings of fact

Doctrine of Stare Decisis

The principle that similar cases with similar facts and issues should have similar judicial outcomes

Precedent - created by appellate courts, the notion of applying the law of previous cases to current cases

Secondary source of law

1. The Restatements of Law - a collection of uniform legal principles focused in a particular area of traditional state law

2. Model state statues - various sets drafted by legal experts as a model for the state legislatures to adopt in their individual jurisdictions

Civil Laws

designed to compensate parties for money lost as a result of another’s conduct

Criminal Laws

designed to protect society that result in penalties for the violator such as fines or imprisonment

Substantive Laws

Laws that provide individuals certain rights and duties

Procedural Laws

Provides a structure and rules set out for pursuing substantive rights

Remedies

“Law and equity”/”Money Damages” - the measure of judicial action intended to compensate an injured party in a civil lawsuit

Equitable relief

Granted in the form of either “do it” or “don’t do it” when monetary compensation is insufficient due to the uniqueness of the offense

Equitable maxims

“Clean Hands Doctrine” - Common law rules used to guide courts in deciding cases, intended to be broad statements of rules based on fairness and justice

Public Laws

Come from government entities, ex. statutes and administrative regulations

Private Laws

recognized as binding between two parties even if no statutes or regulations provides these rights to the parties, ex contracts for services

Fourth Amendment

Prohibits unreasonable searches