Chapter 1 Summary: Law and Legal Reasoning

Consituational law

The law as expressed in the U.S. Constitution and the various state constitutions. The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. State constitutions are supreme within state borders to the extent that they do not violate the U.S. Constitution or a federal law.

Statutory Law

Laws or ordinances created by federal, state, and local legislatures. None of these laws can violate the U.S. Constitution, and no state statute or local ordinance can violate the relevant state constitution. Uniform laws, when adopted by a state legislature, become statutory law in that state

Administrative Law

The rules, orders, and decisions of federal or state government administrative agencies. Federal administrative agencies are created by enabling legislation enacted by the U.S. Congress. Agency functions include rulemaking, investigation and enforcement, and adjudication

Case law and common law doctrines

Judge-made law, including interpretations of constitutional provisions, of statutes enacted by legislatures, and of regulations created by administrative agencies. Case law governs all areas not covered by statutory law or administrative law, and is part of our common law tradition

Common Law

Law that originated in medieval England with the creation of the king’s courts, or curiae regis, and the development of a body of rules that were common to (or applied in) all regions of the country.

Stare Decisis

A doctrine under which judges “stand on decided cases”—or follow the rule of precedent—in deciding cases. Stare decisis is the cornerstone of the common law tradition

A common law doctrine under which judge is obligated to follow the precedents established in prior decisions

Stare Decisis and legal reasoning

Judges use legal reasoning to harmonize their decisions with those that have been made before, as required by the doctrine of stare decisis. The basic steps of legal reasoning form what is often referred to as the IRAC method of legal reasoning.

IRAC Method

IRAC stands for Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion. First, clearly grasp the relevant facts and identify the issue. Second, determine the rule of law that applies to the case. Third, analyze (using cases on point) how the rule of law applies to the particular facts of the dispute, and fourth, arrive at a conclusion.

Remedies

A remedy is the means by which a court enforces a right or compensates for a violation of a right. Courts typically grant legal remedies (monetary damages or property) but may also grant equitable remedies (specific performance, injunction, or rescission) when the legal remedy is inadequate or unavailable.

Schools of legal thought

Judges’ decision making is influenced by their philosophy of law. The following are four important schools of legal thought, or legal philosophies

Natural Law

One of the oldest and most significant schools of legal thought. Those who believe in natural law hold that there is a universal law applicable to all human beings and that this law is of a higher order than positive, or national, law.

Legal Positivism

A school of legal thought centered on the assumption that there is no law higher than the laws created by the government. Laws must be obeyed, even if they are unjust, to prevent anarchy.

Historical School

A school of legal thought that stresses the evolutionary nature of law and looks to doctrines that have withstood the passage of time for guidance in shaping present laws.

Legal Realism

A school of legal thought that generally advocates a less abstract and more realistic approach to the law. This approach takes into account customary practices and the social and economic circumstances in which transactions take place.

Classification of Law

The law may be broken down according to several classification systems, such as substantive or procedural law, federal or state law, and private or public law.

Three broad classifications are civil and criminal law, common law systems and civil law systems, and national and international law.

Cyberlaw is not really a classification of law but a term that refers to the growing body of case and statutory law that applies to internet transactions.