MGMT 200 Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Systems Supplemental Chapter

Law

enforceable rules of conduct set forth by a government to be followed by the citizens of the society.

Constitution

the fundamental law of a nation; a written document establishing the powers of the government and its basic structure; the controlling authority over all other law.

Common law

law developed by American and English courts by decisions in cases. Unlike statutes, it is not passed by a legislative body and is not a specific set of rules; rather, it must be interpreted from the many decisions that have been written over time.

Case

a dispute between two or more parties that is resolved through the legal process.

Case reporters

books containing the decisions issued by federal and state courts in which judges provide the legal reasoning for decisions issued.

Precedent

a decision in a case that is used to guide decisions in later cases with similar fact situations.

Stare decisis

the use of precedent by courts; the use of prior decisions to guide decision making in cases before the courts.

Executive orders

under powers granted by the Constitution, or by Congress in legislation, an order by the president to establish or enforce a legal requirement.

Public law

a classification of law, generally denoting laws that affect relationships between people and their governments.

Private law

a classification of law, generally denoting laws that affect relationships between people.

Criminal law

governs or defines legal wrongs, or crimes, committed against society. Wrongdoers are punished for violating the rules of society. A person found guilty of a criminal offense is usually fined or imprisoned.

Felony

a serious class of crime—such as rape, murder, or robbery—that may be punishable by imprisonment in excess of one year or death.

Misdemeanor

a lesser crime that is neither a felony nor treason, punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment in other than state or federal penitentiaries.

Reasonable doubt

the belief that prevents one from being convinced of a defendant's guilt.

Civil law

(l) laws, written or unwritten, that specify the duties that exist between and among people, as opposed to criminal matters; or (2) codified or statutory law, used in many Western European countries and Japan, as distinguished from the common or judge made law used in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Preponderance of the evidence

in civil trials, the burden of persuasion to win a verdict requires that the plaintiff prove its claim by having the majority or bulk of the evidence on its side.

Substantive law

law that defines the rights and duties of persons to each other, as opposed to procedural law, which is law that defines the manner in which rights and duties may be enforced.

Procedural law

the rules of the court system that deal with the manner in which lawsuits are initiated and go forward. Court systems generally have rules regarding pleadings, process, evidence, and practice.

Ethics

rules or standards governing the conduct of members of a profession and how such standards are put into action within an organization.

Integrity

living according to a moral code and standards of ethics.

Morality

concerns conformity to rules of correct conduct within the context of a society, religion, or other institution.

Compliance program

under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, a company that maintains a compliance program with regulations that apply to the company will be subject to less punishment in case of violations of the law than if there is no good faith effort to have internal procedures to help ensure that the law is followed within the organization.

Corporate social responsibility

the belief that businesses have a duty to society that goes beyond obeying the law and maximizing profits.

CC

Creative Commons

MGMT 200

Introduction

Law

A body of rules of conduct prescribed by controlling authority and having binding legal force.

Common Law

As distinguished from the Roman law, the modern civil law, the canon law, and other systems, the common law is that body of law and juristic theory which was originated, developed, and formulated and is administered in England, and as obtained among most of the states and peoples of Anglo-Saxon stock. (Black's Law)

Action in Equity

A civil trial held without a jury when relief sought by the plaintiff is equitable in nature, such as an injunction, or a divorce or dissolution of a marriage.

Federalism

A system of government in which the same territory is controlled by two levels of government. Generally, an overarching national government governs issues that affect the entire country, and smaller subdivisions govern issues of local concern.

The doctrine of stare decisis

Latin. "To stand by decided cases; to uphold precedent; to maintain former adjudications. "

Precedent

(1) An adjudged case or decision of a court of justice, considered as furnishing an example or authority for an identical or similar case afterwards arising or a similar question of law. (2) A draft of a conveyance, settlement, will, pleading, bill, or other legal instrument, which is considered worthy to serve as a pattern for future instruments of the same nature. (Black's Law)

Unwritten Law

All that portion of the law, observed and administered in the courts, which has not been enacted or promulgated in tlie form of a statute or or-dinance, including the unenacted portions of the common law, general and particular customs having the tbe force of law, and the rules, principles, and maxims established by judicial precedents or the successive like decisions of the courts. (Black's Law)

Reporters

Where common law from appellate court decisions are published in books in chronological order.

Case law

A professional name for the aggregate or reported cases as forming a body of jurisprudence; or for the law of a particular subject as evidenced or formed by the adjudged cases; in distinction to statutes and other sources of law. (Black's Law)

Statutes

Laws made by Congress or by State legislatures.

Ordinance

Written law for Cities and counties. Example: Zoning Ordinance

Codes

A collection or compendium of laws. A complete system of positive law, scientifically arranged, and promulgated by legislative authority.

Case or controversy

A requirement that courts may decide only cases in which an actual conflict between persons exists.

Judicial Activists

Judges whose judicial philosophy includes treating the law as a vibrant and active source of rules. When faced with new issues (e.g., social), such judges are likely to see the Constitution as a flexible document and stare decisis as challengeable when they believe important social needs must be addressed.

Strict Constructionists

Judges whose reading of the law narrowly interprets legal words and who subscribe to interpreting the law consistent with the believed meaning given it by drafters.

Dicta

Latin. "Remarks." Any part of a court opinion that is unnecessary to the resolution of dispute before the court. Such digression by a judge is not binding on later courts.

Initiative

An electoral process for making new statutes or changing the constitution by filing appropriate formal petitions to be voted on by legislature (and governor) or by the people. The initiative is not available in all states.

Criminal Law

That branch or division of law which treats of crimes and their punishments. (Black's Law)

Private Law

As used in contradistinction to public law, the term means all that part of the law which is administered between citizen and citizeu, or which is concerned with the definition, regulation, and enforcement of rights in cases where both the person in whom the right inheres and the person upon whom the obligation is incident are private Individuals. (Black's Law)

Public Law

The laws that cover administration, constitution and criminal acts. It controls the actions between the citizens of the state and the state itself. It deals with the governments operation and structure. (Black's Law)

International Law

The term given to the laws governing and determining the rights of independent nations during war or peace times. (Black's Law)

Procedural Law

The technical aspects of a legal system that states the steps that need to be followed while enforcing criminal or civil law.

Substantive Law

That part of the law which the courts are established to administer, as opposed to the rules according to which the substantive law Itself is administered. That part of the law which creates, defines, and regulates rights, as opposed to adjective or remedial law, which prescribes the method of enforcing rights or obtaining redress for their invasion. (Black's Law)

Ethics

Directives based on one's ethics and morality. How one lives with others. The foremost concepts and principles of proper human conduct. Socially, it is the collective of universal values, treating each human equally, acknowledging human and natural rights, obeying the law of land, showing health and safety concerns, caring for natural environment. (Black's Law)

Morals

1. Pertaining or relating to the conscience or moral sense or to the general principles of right conduct. 2. Cognizable or enforceable only by the conscience or by the principles of right conduct, as distinguished from positive law. 3. Depending upon or resulting from probability ; raising a belief or conviction in the mind independent of strict or logical proof. 4. Involving or affecting the moral sense; as in the phrase "moral insanity." (Black's Law)

Moral Problem Solving

Conflict-resolution process aimed at solving conflicts involving moral dilemmas through communication, education, and negotiation. The broad term describes interrelational rather than individual process.

Code of Ethics

A written set of guidelines of the company's primary worth and ethical standards given from an organization to its workers and management to guide all involved in the company's business in their actions. (Black's Law)

Moral Reasoning

A rational thought process directed at testing whether action is right or wrong. The conclusion is a determination of moral responsibility or culpability.

Duty -Based Ethics

The doctrine that actions are morally correct if they comply with existing obligations owed another or ourselves.

Utilitarianism

Ethical philosophy where happiness of most people is thought to be the greater good. (Black's Law)

Deductive Logic

Deductive logic is a method of logical reasoning from two or more propositions to a conclusion. Inferences are drawn from a general premise to a specific premise. The argument is sound if the propositions on which the conclusion is based are true and if the inferences are valid.

Syllogism

Deduction may be understood as a pattern or syllogism. Syllogisms help to organize thinking so that a valid conclusion is reached. They help to identify incorrect premises and flawed thinking. Moral reasoning follows the following pattern: Proposition One (general premise), Proposition Two (specific, factual, or situational premise), Conclusion (moral determination.)

Nonnormative statements

Statements that reflect no value judgment are objective. They are what is so. These statements are referred to as positive or nonnormative statements.

Normative statements

Statements that reflect what should be or how one should act are called normative statements. They tell what someone deems socially acceptable. The statement is subjective.

Culpability

Blamable; censurable; involving the breach of a legal duty or the commission of a fault. The term is not necessarily equivalent to "criminal," for, in present use, and notwithstanding its derivation, it implies that the act or conduct spoken of Is reprehensible or wrong but not that it Involves malice or a guilty purpose. "Culpable" in fact connotes fault rather than guilt. (Black's Law)

Legal Citation

Abbreviated reference to a variety of legal authorities, including court cases.

Unanimous Opinion

When the judges unanimously agree on an opinion, one judge writes the opinion for the entire court and it is called a unanimous opinion; this opinion is binding precedent..

Majority Opinion

When the opinion is not unanimous, a majority opinion is written by one of the judges. This opinion outlines the views of the majority of the judges deciding the case; this opinion is binding precedent.

Concurring Opinion

Often, a judge who feels strongly about making a point that was not made in the unanimous or majority opinion will write a concurring opinion. The judge agrees (concurs) with the judgment given in the unanimous or majority opinion, but for different reasons; this opinion is not binding precedent but is persuasive precedent.

Dissenting Opinion

If the opinion is not unanimous, a dissenting opinion may be written by a judge who disagrees with the majority's ruling. The dissenting opinion is important because it may form the basis of arguments used years later to overrule the majority opinion; dissenting opinions are not binding precedent but are persuasive precedent.

Appellant or Petitioner

The party who appeals to a higher court for review of a lower court ruling.

Appellee or Respondent

The party who, on appeal, defends the earlier court determination.