BUS263 Exam 1

Case of first impression

if there is no precedent or prior legal principles, the court should base decision on widely held societal values, public policy, or decision made in other jurisdictions.

• Courts can look at other courts, other rulings, legal principles, policies, social values, customs and public policy. All are non-binding.

• Use legal reasoning to form an ruling

Civil law

Defines the rights between individuals or individuals and governments.Penalty is monetary rather than jail.

Ex: Suing a tenant for not paying rent.

Criminal law

defines wrongs committed against the public as a whole as defined by government statutes. Penalty could be jail.

• Ex: Murder, kidnapping, robbery.

Cyber law

an emerging (new) body of law that governs transactions and business conducted by using the Internet.

• Ex: Ordering online or content of websites.

Constitutional law

laws that are expressed in the constitution of the US or state constitutions.

Statutory law

laws that are enacted by legislative bodies. Proposed by congress or senate representative.

Case law

also known as Common Law is a body of judge-made law based on doctrines & principles announced in court cases. It governs all areas of law not covered by statutory or administrative law.

Administrative law

rules, orders and decisions made by administrative agencies such as FDA, FTC, CDC, etc.

Plaintiff

the party initiating a lawsuit (complaining).

Defendant

the party against whom a lawsuit is brought (I didn’t do anything wrong).

Natural law

A higher or universal law exists that applies to all humanity, and all written laws should imitate these principles. Laws contrary to natural law are “unjust” and need not be obeyed.

• Ex: Declaration of Independence

Positivist law

the belief that laws, rights and ethics, are not universal. The written law of a society only applies to those citizen at that time. Whether a law is “good” or “bad” is irrelevant and it must be obeyed or changed.

Historical law

Emphasizes the evolutionary process of law. Concentrates on the origins of the legal system. Law derives its authority from standards that have withstood the test of time. Ex: common law, precedent.

Legal realism

law is not simply a result of the written law, but a product of the views of judicial decision makers, as well as social, economic, and contextual influences.

• Law can never be applied uniformly.

Sociological law

Law is also a tool for promoting justice in society. It examines how laws are shaped by social forces and, in turn, how they influence social behavior, institutions, and norms.

• For Example: the supreme courts role in the civil rights movement.

Stare decisis

the legal principle that courts should follow established precedents, past rulings on similar cases, to ensure legal consistency, predictability, and fairnes

Substantive law

consists of all laws that defines, describes, regulates or creates rights and obligations.

• Ex: sale of alcohol to minors, murder, bank robbery, tax evasion.

Procedural law

consists of all laws that outline how the courts enforce a person’s rights.

• Ex: trial by jury, right to an attorney.

Uniform Commercial Code

Created to facilitate commerce among the states by providing a standard, yet flexible, set of rules governing business transactions.

Bill of Rights

The first 10 amendments to the constitution are used to grant individuals protection from government interference.

1. Freedom of religion, speech, press, peaceful assembly, petition the gov

2. Right to keep and bear arms

3. Prohibit lodging of soldiers in peacetime with consent from owner

4. Prohibit unreasonable search & seizure

5. Right to indictment by jury, fair payment for private property, prohibits self-incrimination & double-jeopardy

6. Right to speedy, public trial, counsel, cross-examination of witnesses & call witnesses in their favor.

7. Trial by jury

8. Prohibits excessive bail, cruel & unusual punishment

9. Additional rights

10.Powers not given to federal government belong to states

Privileges and Immunities Clause

Prevents state from imposing unreasonable burdens on citizens, particularly with regard to basic and essential activities such as doing business or livelihood.

• Ex: Working in one state and living in another, selling property in another state, or accessing the court system in another state.

Full Faith and Credit Clause

Ensures that any judicial decision with respect to such property rights will be honored and enforced in all states for civil matters only.

Commerce Clause

Congress has the power to regulate any businesses engaged in commerce with foreign nations, among the states & Indian tribes, expanded to be intrastate.

• Case Ex: Heart of Atlanta Motel v US 1964

• Case Ex: Gonzales v Raich

Dormant Commerce Clause

The federal government has the exclusive right to regulate interstate commerce. Because states rights are not mentioned, the implication is that the states do NOT have the authority to regulate interstate commerce.

Dormant = implied

Supremacy Clause

provides that the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States are the “Supreme Law of the Land” in any conflict.

Procedural Due Process

a legal doctrine in the United States that requires government officials to follow fair procedures before depriving a person of life, liberty, or property.

Substantive Due Process

a principle in United States constitutional law that examines whether the government's deprivation of a person's life, liberty, or property is justified by a good enough reason.

Symbolic Speech

including gestures, movements, articles of clothing.

• Reasonable Restrictions create a balance between rights & governments responsibility to protect its citizens.

• Content neutral laws - regulate the time or place of speech but not the content.

• Compelling government interest

Corporate Speech

corporations can spend freely to support or oppose candidates for President and Congress.

Commercial Speech

primarily advertising and marketing is allowed free speech in general as long as it is not misleading to the consumer. Includes products, roadside beautification such as billboards.

Unprotected Speech

categories of expression, defined by U.S. Supreme Court rulings, that receive limited or no First Amendment protection because of their potential harm

• Obscene speech – generally, would the contemporary community find it appeals to prurient interests. Includes cp.

• Defamatory speech

• Threatening speech – is it a “true threat”

• Fighting words, provoking violence

• Speech that violates criminal law

Establishment Clause

prohibits government from establishing a state-sponsored religion or passing laws that favor one over the other.

• Ex: cannot make a single religion the official religion of a state or country.

Free Exercise Clause

guarantees a person’s right to hold any (or no) religious belief. Employers must reasonably accommodate beliefs. Ex: Dress codes or Sunday work

Patriot Act

it gave the federal government expanded surveillance and law-enforcement powers to detect and prevent terrorism, raising concerns about privacy and civil liberties and allowed government officials to monitor internet activities, access personal financial information, student information, email, phone, etc. in the wake of 9/11.

Freedom Act

A law passed in 2015 that reformed and limited parts of the Patriot Act by ending bulk data collection and increasing oversight and transparency, aiming to better balance national security with individual privacy rights

Preemption of federal & state laws

a legal doctrine, rooted in the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, where valid federal laws override conflicting state or local laws, establishing federal law as supreme.

Business ethics

the study of right and wrong behavior; whether an action is fair, right or just & applying that to the workplace & marketplace.

Gray Areas: Case Enron

Corporate social responsibility

• companies conducting their core operations in a responsible and sustainable way to create a positive corporate social impact.

• the idea that those who manage corporations should be accountable to society for their actions.

Stakeholders

individuals, groups, or organizations affected by or with an interest in a company's actions, including internal stakeholders (owners, employees) and external stakeholders (customers, suppliers, investors, community, government).

• corporations have responsibility to owners, employees, suppliers, customers & community.

Principle of Rights

individuals possess fundamental entitlements inherent to being human, existing beyond government control, and requiring equal protection, making them universal, inalienable, indivisible, and interdependent, meaning everyone holds them equally, they can't be taken away, and all rights are interconnected, demanding fairness, non-discrimination, and accountability from the state

base your decisions on how your actions will affect the rights of others. Every duty gives rise to a corresponding right.

• Ex: no-smoking.

Kantian ethics

human being are different from physical objects & should have moral integrity & a capacity to reason & act rationally. Should not be treated as a means to an end.

-an action is moral if it's done from a sense of duty, following universal rules, not for personal gain or good outcomes; it's about intentions, not results.

Categorical imperative

we should evaluate our actions in light of the consequences that would follow if everyone in society acted the same way.

Moral minimum theory

companies who do just enough to keep from violating the law, but do not take a proactive approach to ethics.

Utilitarianism

An action is ethical based on whether it produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people upon which it has an effect.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act

U.S. federal law from 2002 designed to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate financial reporting, increasing corporate responsibility, and preventing illegal or unethical auditing or accounting practices.

Sources of unethical behavior

intense pressure for short-term profits, poor leadership setting a bad cultural tone, weak regulations allowing exploitation, unclear policies leading to confusion, and individual traits like greed or self-interest

Triple bottom line

a sustainability framework that posits companies should measure their success across three interconnected dimensions, commonly known as the "three P's": People, Planet, and Profit.

Alternative dispute resolution

various methods outside of the traditional court system designed to resolve conflict. Less money & faster

Negotiation

Informal discussion by parties, sometimes without attorneys, to come to a “meeting of the minds” in resolution. No neutral 3rd party to oversee the process. “settle out of court”

Mediation

Involves a neutral 3rd party who talks face-to-face with parties to help evaluate options & may propose solutions. Suggestions are non-binding.

Arbitration

a Neutral 3rd party (an expert in the field) renders a legally-binding decision.

• Submission- the act of referring a case to arbitrator.

• Award – the arbitrator's decision. Legally binding final word on the matter.

• Most contracts include an arbitration clause.

Jurisdiction

the power of a court to hear a dispute and to “speak the law” into a controversy and render a verdict that is legally binding on the parties to the dispute.

Overturning arbitrator’s decision

to the process of a court reviewing an arbitration award and setting it aside, or vacating it, under extremely limited circumstances.

• This action essentially invalidates the arbitrator's ruling, which is typically considered final and binding. 

Question of law

an issue in a legal case about what the law is, how it should be interpreted, or its legal effect, always decided by a judge, not the jury, involving rules, statutes, or precedents.

Ex: is flag burning protected speech

Question of fact

an issue about what actually happened in a case, determined by the jury (or judge in a bench trial) by weighing evidence Typically heard by lower courts.

Ex: did they really burn a flag.

Standing to sue

Party must have sufficient “stake” in the controversy & suffered a legal injury.

• Includes: Harm, Causation & Remedy.

In personam jurisdiction

Jurisdiction over the person or business that resides in a certain geographical area. Court requires them to appear.

• Ex: Lawsuit against a company or person in Auburn, AL would be held in Alabama court system.

In rem jurisdiction

a court generally has jurisdiction over any property situated within its geographical borders. whether the property is real, personal, tangible, or intangible. For Businesses: if doing business there.

• If you live in Alabama but have a boat docked in Florida. Lawsuits regarding the boat might be held in Florida.

Subject matter jurisdiction

court's fundamental authority to hear a specific type of case, like family law, bankruptcy, or federal questions, determining if a case belongs in state or federal court (or a specialized court) based on the nature of the dispute and applicable laws

examples include-

• Probate – transfer of assets or guardianship

• Bankruptcy courts

• Traffic courts

• Family courts

• Small claims court

Venue

concerned with the most appropriate location for the trial. Generally, where the injury occurred.

Writ of certiorari

An order issued by the Supreme Court to a lower court requiring them to send the case for review.

Rule of 4 – if 4 of the 9 Justices want to hear the case, then they will.