L201 Exam 1 Terminology

Constitutions

Type of law that establishes governmental structure, rights and duties

Statutes

type of law that is enacted by legislative or federal body to regulate conduct.

Common Law

classification of law that originates from judicial decisions and relies upon/ creates a precedent; used when there is no statute to govern a case. (based on judicial decisions and precedents rather than written statutes!)

Equity

classification of law that is applied to state-level courts when common law rules would produce unfair results

Injunction

type of equity that forbids/orders a party to perform an act THAT HASNT BEEN ALREADY ESTABLISHED BY CONTRACT

Specific Performance

type of equity that orders a party to act according to a contract that has already been established

Reformation

a type of equity where the court reqrites the contract to reflect the intention of the parties

Recession

a type of equity that allows the court to cancel a contract for any reason

Administrative Regulations and Decisions

classification of law that is made by state or federal agencies, created by statute and hold delegated power

Treaties

classification of law that has agreements with foreign nations made by the pres on behalf of the nation, approved by Senate

Ordinance

classification of law that is amde by subunits of state governments for local issues, such as zoning of buildings

Executive Order

classification of law that is issued by the pres or state gov under limited power (decision made without congressional approval)

Federal Supremacy

Supremacy Hierarchy: US Constitution > Federal Law > State Law, State Constitution > State Legislation, Statute > Administrative Regulation, Statute or Regulation > Common Law

Criminal Law

classification of law that establishes duties to society itself (ex. no murder)

Civil Law

classification of law that establishes duties and obligations to private parties (ex. contracts, torts, properties, etc)

Substantive Law

classification of law that establishes the rights and duties themselves

Procedural Law

classification of law that establishes how to enforce rights/duties

Public Law

classification of law that contains relationship between governments and private parties (constitutional, statutory and administrative law)

Jurisprudence

the philosophy of law and the collection of laws

Legal Positivism

Jurisprudence philosophy that states the law must be obeyed, whether it is unjust or not

Natural Law

Jurisprudence philosophy that states that unjust positive laws are invalid.

Positive Law

jurisprudence theory that states that statutes which have been laid down by a legislature, court, or other human institution and can take whatever form the authors want.

American Legal Realism

jurisprudence theory that defines law as the behavior of the judiciary as it rules on matter within the legal system

Sociological Jurisprudence

jurisprudence theory that unites theories that examine law within social context

Legal Reasoning

generic term for how law is reasoned, where legal rule is the major premise and facts are the minor premise

Case Law Reasoning

type of reasoning where the court uses a precedent established by a previous case

Statutory Interpretation

action of interpretation of the court to clarify any ambiguities of a legislative act

Plain Meaning Rule

rule that states that the courts apply a statute according to the usual and customary meaning of words

Maxim

used to assist statutory interpretation (ex. Ejusdem Generis)

Limits on the Power of Courts

constraints that restrict a court's ability to hear and decide cases or to enforce its rulings, establishing a hierarchy of power and regulating the power different governments have.

52

how many court systems does the US have total?

Jurisdiction

power to hear and speak in the courts (original or appellate)

Trial Courts

courts of general jurisdiction that hear most types of cases, such as county and district courts

Appellate Courts

courts that generally only decide legal questions, not questions of fact; review record of trial court proceedings and correct legal errors (reversals). can also hear appeals from state agencies

Plaintiff

party that sues the defendant

Subject Matter Jurisdiction

jurisdiction that gives the court authority to hear a particular type of dispute

Court of Criminal Jurisdiction

jurisdiction court that hears trials of crimes and misdemenors

Courts of Civil Jurisdiction

jurisdiction courts that hears and decides private rights/duties, along with public matters

In Personam

latin term; jurisdiction requires defendenant to be a resident/ located in the state and committed acts within borders

In Rem Jurisdiction

latin term for jurisdiction that applies when the property of a subject of dispute is located within the physical boundaries of a court’s authorities

Quasi in Rem Jurisdiction

similar to In Rem Jurisdiction, but doesn’t address rights in the property itself

Venue

place where court is held, being fair and convienent; requiements are set by state statute assuming jurisdiction is established

Forum Section Clause

clause that may be included on contracts, address both jurisdiction and venue and are generally enforced unless unreasonable

Diversity Jurisdiction

jurisdiction that applies when disputes between citizens of different states amounts in controversy over $75k

Federal Question

jurisdiction that applies when dispute arises under the Constitution, law or treaties of the US

Federal Court of Appeals

13 federal circuts that hear decisions from US district courts (trial courts) and Bankruptcy courts

US Supreme Courts

type of court that hears appeals from lower courts and has original and exclusive jurisdiction over controversy between states (doesn’t have exclusive juris over in cases involving foreign ambassadors)

Original Jurisdiction

basic type of jurisdiction that simply allows courts to hear a case for the first time without particular selection of the case

Exclusive Jurisdiction

A basic type of jurisdiction that allows for the sole authority to hear a specific CATEGORY of case (details the category itself)

Civil Procedure

type of procedure that establishes how a lawsuit proceeds from beginning to end

Service of the Summons

the notification sent to the defendant that they are being sued

The Pleadings

the plaintiff’s complaint or petition along with the defendant’s answer/response

Motion

term describing the request (given to the judge) to make a decisions before the trial

Motion to Dismiss

court motion that dismisses the case (also know as demurrer)

Motion for Judgement on the Pleadings

court motion that request to a court to rule on a case based solely on the written documents (pleadings) filed by the parties involved.

Motion for Summary Judgement

court motion that requests a court to decide a case or part of a case without a trial, based on the argument that there are no genuine disputes of material fact and the law clearly favors the moving party

Summary of Judgement

term that shows that a party must show there is no genuine issue of material fact AND they are entitled to as a matter of law

Pretrial Conference

option for the judge to meet to hear and rule a case on evidentiary issues, discovery disputes and potential settlement before the case happens

Matters of Law

term describing the issue of law (not fact) that is decided by a judge (uses statutes to help decide verdict)

Judge or Jury

the trier of fact that sees the material evidence, hears testimony’s and decided outcome based on facts

Voire Dire

A type of jury selection where the judge analyzes and removes any members of the court that may have bias

Direct Examination

phase of a trial or hearing where an attorney questions their own witness to establish facts, build a narrative, and present evidence supporting their case.

Cross Examination

the formal interrogation of a witness called by the other party in a court of law to challenge or extend testimony already given

Closing Argument/ Summation of Case

final statements given by the plaintiff and defendant, stating credibility and why their party should win

Jury Instructions

directions given by the judge to the jury that explain the specific laws and legal principles applicable to the case being tried

Motion In Limine

trial motion that attempts to limit evidence presented

Motion of Voluntary Non-Suit or Dismissal

trial motion if the party is going to lose (since attorneys are expenive)

Motion for Compulsory Non-Suit or Summary Judgement

trial motion for resolving case without trial because of lack of evidence

Mistrial

decision made after trial ends stating that there was injustice or overwhelming prejudice

Directed Verdict

decision made after trial ends revealing weight of evidence has lead to only one conclusion

Motion for New Trial (JNOV)

after-verdict motion for a notwithstanding verdict because of legal error

Remittitur

after verdict request for the judge to reduce the amount of damages the jury reccomened, very common

Appeal

after verdict decision to request that the decision be moved to a higher court to see if there is an error in matter of law

Class Action (Federal Rule 23)

lawsuit action that allows companies with same legal wrongs to gather together as a defendant and also promotes the economy of judicial effort by combining many similar claims into one suit

Alternate Dispute Resolution

less costly and quicker method of settling disputes, often used by administrative agencies; may be more appropriate for certain types of less important disputes, like family law disputes

Arbitration

type of ADR that uses a third party to decide who wins

Mediation

type of ADR that finds a resolution between parties

Reference to Third Party

type of ADR resolution by a rent-a-judge, mini trial, summary judgement or association tribunal

Med/Arb

type of ADR that uses a hybrid, where a third party first acts as a mediator and then as an arbitrator

Magistrate or Special Master

type of ADR that uses a magistrate judge or law expert to handle specific cases

Early Neutral Evaluation

type of ADR that has parties present their cases to a neutral, experiences evaluator to get an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of their cases

Private Judging

type of ADR in which litigants hire a private referee and have their dispute heard outside of a traditional court room

Private Pannels

type of ADR that is instituted by an industry or organization to handle claims (ex. better business bureau)