BLAW Test 2

A court first looks to which of the following when interpreting a statute?

plain meaning of the statute

A court first looks to which of the following when interpreting a statute?

plain meaning of the statute

What is procedural due process?

government can't take liberty or property without proper process

FOIA allows access to any information held by a federal agency T/F

False

Under equal protection, laws that make classifications based on gender will be upheld if the classification...

substantially relates to an important government objective

There can be more than one cause of a plaintiff's injury T/F

True

Single recovery principle keeps a plaintiff from collecting additional damages after the initial judgement is entered T/F

True

The Constitution grants the Supreme Court its power of judicial review T/F

False

What power does the commerce clause give?

Congress the power to regulate commerce between states

What type of negligence is it when someone exceeds the speed limit and causes an injury?

Negligence per se

Enabling legislation creates agencies and defines their powers T/F

True

When can someone have an agency decision reviewed in federal court?

once they exhaust their administrative appeals

A person can be sued for defamation if he lies during court testimony T/F

False

Which constitution clause requires us to follow federal law over state law?

Supremacy clause

If engages in ultrahazardous activity, defendant is liable for plaintiff's injuries even if he did everything perfectly T/F

True

Agencies cannot perform a warrantless search and seizure of a business T/F

False

A landowner must warn a licensee of what type of danger on the landowner's property?

hidden dangers, if the owner knows about them

How many individuals head an executive federal agency?

1

What are punitive damages designed to accomplish?

punishment of the defendant for extreme conduct

What was the first plan of government in the US?

Articles of confederation

How does Tortious Interference with Contract differ from Tortious Interference with Prospective Advantage?

it requires a contract

Can either originate in the House or Senate, then it gets passed by both of them, and then approved by the President

Process for bill to become law

Judge made law

Common law

an earlier case that decided the issue

Precedent

The decision made in the precedent stands

Stare Decisis

House and the senate make up...

Congress

protects employees and job applicants from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

an approach to legal proceedings that relies on the usual and ordinary meaning of a law's text

Plain meaning rule

1) plain meaning rule 2) legislative history and intent 3) public policy

Steps for statutory Interpretation

How are administrative agencies created?

Through enabling acts, gives the agency some direction to what the agency should do.

public access to all federal agency records except for those records that are protected from disclosure

Freedom of information Act (FOIA)

interpret the broad congressional laws, enact various rules defining and interpreting relevant statutes, enforce those rules, and adjudicate matters according to those regulations

Agency powers

Pros to agencies

Violation of duty imposed by civil law that harms a person or property

tort

What are the 2 types of tort

Intentional tort and Negligent tort

Verbal or written derogatory speech about someone to hurt their image

Defamation of Character

The 4 elements of Defamation of Character

Statement, Falsity, Communicated, Injury

Written defamation of Character

Libel

Verbal defamation of character

Slander

Intentional touching of another person in a way that is harmful or offensive

Battery

An act that makes a person fear an imminent battery

Assault

Defendant intentionally interferes with plaintiff's contract with a third party (Contract, Defendant knows contract, Defendant improperly induces 3rd party, injury)

Tortious Interference with contract

interference with an economic relationship with no contract necessary for a plaintiff to assert the claim

Tortious interference with prospective advantage

Federal stature protecting businesses from unfair claims

Lanham Act

Damages that you get all at once, meaning a lawsuit in the future can not attempt to get more money for the same incident

single recovery principle

When a statute sets a minimum standard of care to protect a certain group of people and someone violates the statute and injures another person within that group

Negligence per se

What are the 3 types of compensatory damages

Medical, Lost Wages and Pain and suffering (all past and future)

Punishing conduct to deter future conduct

Punitive Damages

Failed to act as a reasonable person in the situation

General Standard

1.Defendant had exclusive control over the thing that caused harm
2.Harm would not have occurred without negligence
3.Plaintiff had no role in causing the harm

Res Ipsa Loquitur

duty of due care that a reasonable person would do to foreseeable victims

General Duty

Defendants conduct actually harms plaintiff (can be more than one cause of these for a plaintiffs injury)

Factual Causation

Defendant is liable only for type of harm that is reasonably foreseeable to plaintiffs who are reasonably foreseeable, only 1 of these for plaintiffs injury

Proximate Causation

Order of highest special duty to lowest as a landowner

Invitee (public place), Licensee (social guest), Trespassers

Defendant says that are not liable

Contributory negligence

Plaintiff can still recover from defendant depending on the percentage of negligence

Comparative negligence

2 situations - Ultrahazardous activity and Defective Products

Strict Liability

the government does not have the right to forbid us from saying what we like and writing what we like

Freedom of speech

Political speech, commercial speech are both protected. Obscenity is not.

Levels of protection on speech

asks the question of whether the government's deprivation of a person's life, liberty or property is justified by a sufficient purpose.

Substantive due process

gives Congress broad power to regulate interstate commerce and restricts states from impairing interstate commerce

Commerce clause

the idea that a governmental body may not deny people equal protection of its governing laws

equal protection clause

the highest form of judicial review that courts use to evaluate the constitutionality of laws, regulations or other governmental policies under legal challenge.

strict scrutiny

less rigorous than strict scrutiny, but more rigorous than the rational basis test

intermediate scrutiny

The govenment need only show that the challenged classification is rationally related to serving a legitimate state interest

minimal scrutiny

Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation

Takings clause

gives the government the power to take your property, even if you don't want to sell.

eminent domain

establishes that the federal constitution, and federal law generally, take precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions.

Supremacy clause

the original constitution of the US, ratified in 1781, which was replaced by the US Constitution in 1789.

Articles of confederation

the ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution

Supreme court power of judicial review