Comprehensive Law and Jurisprudence: Key Concepts and Court Procedures

Law

must be obeyed and followed by citizens subject to sanctions or legal consequences, a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority and having binding legal force.

Functions of the law

serves the law

Jurisprudence

philosophy or science of law

Natural law school

school of jurisprudential thought that postulates that law is based on what is correct. It emphasizes a moral theory of law -that is, law should be based on morality and ethics.

Moral theory of law

a school thought that emphasizes that law should be based on morality and ethics.

Historical school

a school of jurisprudential thought that postulates that law is an aggregate of social traditions and customs.

Precedent

rule of law established in a court decision. Lower courts must follow the precedent established by higher courts.

Analytical school

A school of jurisprudential thought that maintains that law is shaped by logic.

Sociological School

a school of jurisprudential thought that asserts that law is a means of achieving and advancing certain sociological goals.

Social justice school

school of jurisprudence that maintains that the law should be designed to provide for the fair division of opportunities, resources, and privileges in society.

Critical legal studies school

school of jurisprudential thought that maintains that legal rules are unnecessary and that legal disputes should be solved by applying arbitrary rules based on fairness.

Law and Economics school

a school of jurisprudential thought that postulates that promoting market efficiency should be the central concern of legal decision making.

Command school

school of jurisprudential thought that postulates that law is a set of rules developed, communicated, and enforced by the ruling party.

English common law

law developed by judges who issued their opinions when deciding a case, The principles announced in these cases became precedent for deciding similar cases in the future.

Common law

law based on decisions issued by the courts.

Legislative branch (congress)

branch of the federal government that consists of the U.S. Congress (the U.S. Senate and the U.S. house of representatives). The U.S. congress enacts federal statues.

Executive branch

the part of the government that consists of the president.

Judicial branch

branch of state and federal government that is composed of courts of the relevant jurisdiction, Federal courts are authorized by Article III of the U.S. Constitution.

Treaty

Agreement between two or more nations that is formally signed by an authorized representative of each nation and ratified by each nation.

Statues

Written law enacted by the legislative branch of the federal and state governments that establishes certain courses of conduct that must be adhered to by covered parties.

Federal statues

states enacted by the U.S. congress.

Code books

books that contain statues enacted by the U.S. congress and state legislatures and ordinances enacted by municipalities.

Codified law

statutes enacted by congress and state legislatures and ordinances passed municipalities and local government bodies.

U.S. Congress (Congress)

the name of the U.S. senate and the U.S. house of representatives jointly.

U.S. House of Representatives

One of two legislative bodies that make up the bicameral legislative system of the U.S. government. The number of representatives in the U.S. house of representatives is determined according to the population of each state.

U.S. Senate

one of two legislative bodies that make up the bicameral legislative system of the U.S. government: The U.S. Senate is composed of two senators from each state.

Bills

document introduced in the U.S. congress that begins the process whereby a bill can become a statue.

Chamber

a portion of the legislative branch of government; refers to either the U.S. House of Representatives of the U.S. Senate

Congressional committee

special group composed of members of the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate to which a bill that has been introduced in the U.S. Congress is referred for review.

Congressional subcommittee

special group of members of a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate

Conference committee

special group composed of members of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate whose task is to try to reconcile the differences in bills passed by each chamber.

State constitutions

constitutions that are adopted by states. State constitutions are often patterned after the U.S. constitution, although many are more detailed.

State statues

states enacted by state legislature.

Ordinances

law enacted by local government bodies, such as cities and municipalities, counties, school districts, and water districts.

Executive orders

orders issued by a member of the executive branch of the government.

Administrative agencies

agencies that the legislative and executive branches of federal and state governments establish.

Administrative rules and regulations

directives issued by federal and state administrative agencies that interpret the statutes that the agency is authorized to enforce.

Administrative orders

rule or order issued by an agency not by a court.

Judicial decisions

a decision in a lawsuit made by a federal or state court.

Stare decisis

follow past rulings when dealing with similar cases.

Brown v board of education

created the "separate but equal" doctrine but violated the equal protection clause and the fourteenth amendment.

Flexibility of the law

how the law evolves and changes along with the norms of society, advances in technology, and the growth and expansion of commerce.

Critical legal thinking

process of investigating, analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting information to solve legal issues or cases.

Socratic method

a question and answer method used by law professors in class to stimulate class discussions and debate.

IRAC method

critical legal thinking method for analyzing court cases. IRAC stands for issue, rule, application, and conclusion.

Judicial resolution

process of resolving legal disputes through the use of federal or state courts.

Litigation

process of bringing, maintaining, and defending a lawsuit.

6th amendment

guarantees right to attorney for criminal defendants

7th amendment

persons involved in a civil case in a federal court has a right to a jury trial.

Bench trial

no jury, judge decides trial.

Pro se litigant

people who represent themselves in court (usually lose)

Contingency fee

lawyer takes a percentage of how much money is won but if they lose the case they make nothing.

Cost-benefit analysis

examination of relevant factors to determine whether to bring or settle a lawsuit.

Retainer

deposit to pay unpaid legal bills.

Pleadings

paperwork that is filed with the court to initiate and respond to a lawsuit

Plaintiff

the party who files a complaint that initiates a lawsuit.

Complaint

document a plaintiff files with the court and serves on the defendant to initiate a lawsuit.

Summons

court order directing the defendant to appear in court and answer the complaint

Service of process

process of serving a summons on a defendant to obtain personal jurisdiction over the defendant.

Defendant

a party who is being sued.

Answer

defendants written response to a plaintiff's complaint that is filed with the court and served on the plaintiff.

Default judgement

judgement that is entered against a defendant if he or she does not answer a plaintiff's complaint.

Statute of limitations

period during which a plaintiff must bring a lawsuit against a defendant.

Class action

situation in which a group of plaintiffs collectively bring a lawsuit against a defendant.

Class Action Fairness Act(CAFA)

federal statute that requires certain class action lawsuits to be brought in or transferred to federal courts.

Forum shopping

a party's looking for a favorable court in which to bring a lawsuit without a valid reason for being that court.

Discovery

legal process which each party engages in various activities to discover facts of the case from the other party and witnesses prior to trial.

Deposition

oral testimony given by a party prior to trial. The testimony is given under oath and is transcribed

Deponent

a party who gives their deposition

Interrogatories

written questions the one party is required to answer within a specified time period.

Physical or mental examinations

A court-ordered examination of a party to a lawsuit before trial to determine the extent of the alleged injuries.

production of documents

A request by one party to another party of a lawsuit to produce all documents relevant to the case prior to the trial.

electronically stored information (ESI)

Electronic and digital information that includes Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, emails, instant messages, text messages, cloud storage, phone records, pdfs of key files, PowerPoint slides, photographs, audio and visual files, social media posts, website captures, metadata, and other digital information.

Motion to dismiss

ask the court to dismiss the case based on lack of jurisdiction, insufficient service of process, or if the case has been filed to the wrong court.

jury trial

A lawsuit decided by a jury.

trier of fact

The jury in a jury trial; the judge where there is no jury trial.

trial brief

Documents submitted by the parties' attorneys to the judge that contain legal support for their side of the case.

settlement conference (pretrial hearing)

A hearing before a trial in order to facilitate the settlement of a case.

settlement agreement

An agreement voluntarily entered into by the parties to a lawsuit whereby they agree to settle their dispute; In a divorce proceeding, a written document signed by divorcing parties that evidences their agreement settling property rights and other issues of their divorce.

jury summons (juror summons)

A notice given to a person by a court notifying the person that they have been called for jury duty.

voir dire

A process whereby prospective jurors are asked questions by the judge and attorneys to determine whether they would be biased in their decisions.

alternate jurors

A person who is selected to witness a trial and may replace a juror who cannot complete the trial because of death, illness, discovered bias, or other reasons.

peremptory challenges (peremptory strike)

A rule that permits each party to a lawsuit to dismiss a limited number of proposed jurors from becoming jurors without having to show that the dismissed individuals were biased.

impaneled

The act of being sworn in as a juror to hear a case.

sequestered

A process in which jurors are separated from family and others during jury deliberation.

opening statement

Statements made by each party's attorney to the jury at the beginning of a trial.

burden of proof

A burden a plaintiff bears in a civil or criminal trial to persuade the trier of fact of the merits of his or her case.

plaintiff's case

The case presented by the plaintiff, who bears the burden of proof and therefore proceeds before the defendant in calling and examining witnesses and introducing evidence supporting the plaintiff's case.

Entry of judgement

the judge entered a judgment to the successful party based on the verdict.

Appeal

act of asking an appellate court to overturn a decision after the trial court's final judgement has been entered.

Final judgement

judgement of a trial court entered after all post trial motions are decided.

Notice of appeal

document filed by a party within prescribed time after judgement is entered to appeal the decision of court.

Arbitration

Neutral third party to hear and decide the dispute.

Binding arbitration

the decision and award of the arbitrator cannot be appealed to courts.

Mediation

form of negotiation in which a neutral third party assist the disputing parties in reaching a settlement of their dispute.

U.S. House of Representatives

One of the two legislative bodies that make up the bicameral legislative system of the U.S. government. The number of representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives is determined according to the population of each state.

Article II of the U.S. Constitution

The part of the U.S. Constitution that establishes the executive branch of the federal government.

executive branch (president)

The part of the government that consists of the president.

judicial branch (courts)

The branch of state and federal governments that is composed of courts of the relevant jurisdiction; Federal courts are authorized by Article III of the U.S. Constitution.

Article III of the U.S. Constitution

The part of the U.S. Constitution that establishes the judicial branch of the federal government.