legal aspects of biz exam 1

Sources of American law

The main places U.S. law comes from: constitutions, statutes, administrative regulations, and court decisions/case law.

Constitution

The highest source of law. It creates government powers, limits government action, and protects individual rights.

Statutory law

Law passed by a legislative body, such as Congress or a state legislature.

Administrative law

Rules and decisions made by government agencies that have authority from statutes.

Case law

Law made through court decisions.

Legal precedent

A prior court decision that guides later courts when similar facts or legal issues come up.

Stare decisis

The principle that courts usually follow earlier precedent to keep the law consistent.

Civil law

Law dealing with disputes between people, businesses, or the government where the main goal is compensation or a remedy, not punishment.

Criminal law

Law dealing with offenses against society where the government prosecutes and the punishment can include fines, probation, or jail.

Commerce Clause

The constitutional power that lets the federal government regulate interstate commerce, meaning business activity across state lines.

First Amendment freedoms

The freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition.

Fourth Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures; police usually need a warrant based on probable cause.

Search warrant

A court order allowing police to search a specific place for specific evidence.

Probable cause

A reasonable basis to believe a crime occurred or that evidence of a crime will be found.

Exclusionary rule

Evidence found through an illegal search or seizure generally cannot be used in court.

Fifth Amendment

Protects against self-incrimination and requires due process from the federal government.

Self-incrimination

Being forced to testify against yourself in a criminal case; the Fifth Amendment protects against this.

Sixth Amendment speedy trial

A criminal defendant has the right to a speedy trial.

Due process

The government cannot take life, liberty, or property without fair legal procedures.

Fifth Amendment due process

Due process protection against the federal government.

Fourteenth Amendment due process

Due process protection against state governments.

Equal Protection Clause

The Fourteenth Amendment rule that the government must treat similarly situated people similarly.

Strict scrutiny

The highest level of court review, used when a law affects a fundamental right or suspect classification. The government must have a very strong reason.

Implied right to privacy

A privacy right inferred from several amendments, including the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments.

Checks and balances

The system where each branch of government can limit the power of the others.

Preemption

When federal law overrides state law because federal law is supreme.

Judicial review

The power of courts to decide whether laws or government actions violate the Constitution.

Plaintiff

The party who starts a lawsuit.

Defendant

The party being sued or accused.

Standing

The legal right to bring a lawsuit because the person has a real stake or actual injury in the dispute.

Jurisdiction

A court’s power to hear and decide a case.

Exclusive jurisdiction

Only one court system has the power to hear the case.

Concurrent jurisdiction

More than one court system has the power to hear the case.

Diversity jurisdiction

Federal jurisdiction when the parties are from different states and the amount in controversy requirement is met.

Long-arm statute

A state law that allows a court to bring an out-of-state defendant into that state’s court.

Minimum contacts

The out-of-state defendant must have enough connection with the state for the state court to have jurisdiction.

Trial court

The first court to hear a case, where facts are presented and witnesses may testify.

Appellate court

A court that reviews a lower court’s decision for legal errors.

Discovery

The pretrial process where parties gather and exchange evidence.

Mediation

A dispute-resolution process where a neutral third party helps the parties try to reach an agreement.

Ethics

A system of moral principles used to decide what is right and wrong.

Moral minimum

The lowest level of ethical behavior expected, usually meaning obeying the law.

Short-term profit maximization

A business approach focused mainly on immediate profits, even if long-term or ethical concerns are ignored.

Corporate social responsibility

The idea that businesses should consider their impact on society, not just profits.

Triple bottom line

A business view that measures success by people, planet, and profit.

Tort

A civil wrong that causes injury or harm and can lead to legal liability.

Tort damages

Money awarded in a tort case to compensate the injured person or sometimes punish the wrongdoer.

Compensatory damages

Money meant to repay the plaintiff for actual losses or injuries.

Special damages

Compensation for specific measurable losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, or repair costs.

General damages

Compensation for harder-to-measure harm, such as pain and suffering.

Punitive damages

Extra damages meant to punish especially bad conduct and discourage others from doing the same.

Intentional tort

A civil wrong done on purpose, such as battery, assault, trespass, or conversion.

Assault

An intentional act that makes someone reasonably fear immediate harmful or offensive contact.

Battery

Intentional harmful or offensive physical contact with another person.

Transferred intent

When someone intends to harm one person but accidentally harms another; the intent transfers to the actual victim.

Intentional infliction of emotional distress

Extreme and outrageous conduct that intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress.

Trespass to land

Intentionally entering or remaining on someone else’s property without permission.

Conversion

Wrongfully taking or controlling someone else’s personal property as if it were your own.

Defamation

A false statement of fact that harms someone’s reputation.

Slander

Spoken defamation.

Libel

Written or recorded defamation.

Public figure defamation

A famous or public person must usually prove actual malice, meaning the false statement was made knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth.

Negligence

Failure to use reasonable care, causing harm to another person.

Negligence elements

Duty, breach, causation, and damages.

Duty

A legal obligation to act with reasonable care.

Breach

Failure to meet the required duty of care.

Causation

The breach must be the actual and legal cause of the plaintiff’s injury.

Damages in negligence

The plaintiff must have suffered a real injury or loss.

Good Samaritan law

A law that protects people from liability when they voluntarily try to help in an emergency, as long as they act reasonably.

Assumption of risk

A defense where the plaintiff knowingly accepted a risk, such as risks in a contact sport.

Strict liability

Liability without needing to prove intent or negligence, often for abnormally dangerous activities or defective products.

Product liability

Liability for harm caused by a defective product.

Design defect

A product is unsafe because the way it was designed is unreasonably dangerous.

Manufacturing defect

A product is unsafe because it was made incorrectly, even if the design was safe.

Failure to warn

A product defect where the seller did not give proper warnings or instructions about risks.

Intellectual property

Legal rights that protect creations of the mind, such as inventions, brands, creative works, and business secrets.

Trade secret

Confidential business information that gives a company a competitive advantage.

Trademark

A word, name, symbol, slogan, logo, or design that identifies and distinguishes goods or services.

Trademark infringement

Unauthorized use of a trademark in a way that is likely to confuse consumers.

Trademark dilution

Weakening or harming a famous trademark’s distinctiveness or reputation, even without direct competition.

License

Permission to use someone else’s intellectual property under agreed terms.

Patent

A legal right giving an inventor exclusive control over an invention for a limited time, commonly 20 years.

Copyright

Protection for original creative works such as music, writing, art, film, and software.

Fair use

A copyright exception allowing limited use for purposes such as criticism, teaching, research, news, or scholarship.

Contract

A legally enforceable agreement.

Valid contract basic requirements

A valid contract generally needs agreement, consideration, contractual capacity, and legality. Your notes also emphasize definite terms.

Definite terms

The contract terms must be clear enough for a court to understand what each side promised.

Consideration

Something of legal value exchanged between the parties.

Legally sufficient consideration

A promise to do something you are legally allowed to do, or a promise not to do something you have a legal right to do.

Preexisting duty rule

Doing something you are already legally required to do usually is not new consideration.

Offer

A clear proposal to enter into a contract.

Effective offer

An offer must have definite terms and be communicated to the offeree.

Acceptance

Agreement to the offer’s terms.

Silence as acceptance

Silence usually is not acceptance, unless the parties have a prior relationship or conduct showing silence means acceptance.

Mirror image rule

Acceptance must match the offer exactly; changing terms creates a counteroffer.

Counteroffer

A response that changes the original offer, rejecting the original offer and proposing new terms.

Unilateral contract

A contract accepted by performance; only one side makes a promise until the act is completed.

Bilateral contract

A contract where both sides exchange promises.

Capacity

The legal ability to enter a contract, including being old enough and mentally competent.

Mental capacity

A person must be in the right mental state to properly consent to a contract.