Statutory Law (Statute)
Law passed by the U.S. Congress or state legislatures
Common Law
Law Created by Judges, an important type is a precedent (such as supreme court decisions)
Administrative Regulations
Similar to statutes & laws, but issued by administrative agents
SEC (Security Exchange Commission)
Appointed by president with 5 spots. If you are lib/woke, you can appoint 3 libs max and 2 reps. Same goes other way for republicans.
Agency Decision
Like a decision from a supreme court judge, but comes from an agency, (ex. SEC). Requires an investigation and proceeding.
Treaties
formal agreements between nations. In order for one to be pass, 2/3 of congress must vote and agree on it.
Ordinances
Local Laws, (ex. Zoning ordinance)
Executive Order
A rule issued by the president or state governor that has the force of law. Reversible by next elected president or state governor, and must not be unconstitutional.
Priority Rules, (when laws conflict)
Federal Constitution > Everything
Federal Statutes > State Statutes & Constitutions
Statutes > Common Law & Administrative Regulations
Administrative Regulations > Common Law
Criminal Law
A law that defines crimes against the public order.
Civil Law
A law that governs relationships between individuals and defines their legal rights.
Public Law
Person v. Government (Criminal)
Private law
Person v. Person (Civil)
Peacekeeping Law
Criminal Laws made to keep societal peace
Control & Gov't Power Laws
Making it so the government has some power, but not too much power
Protecting People's Reasonable Expectations
Purpose of law - such as contract law
Laws to promote free competition (purpose)
Ex. anti-monopoly laws
Promoting social Justice (purpose)
Ex. laws that prevent employer discrimination
protecting the environment
Purpose of law - Such as EPA Regulations
Precedent (stare decisis)
a legal norm established in court cases that is then applied to future cases dealing with the same legal questions.
statutory interpretation
the process by which courts interpret and apply legislation.
Statutes are written incompetently by congress and left to interpretation purposely due to being difficult issues
Plain Meaning Rule
if the words in a statute have clear and widely understood meanings, the conventional interpretation should be used
Legislative history of a statute
Judges should look at legislative history, (reports, amendments, and defeated amendments)
-ask "why did congress pass this law?" In order to enforce it properly
General Public Purpose
Judges are supposed to look at statutes and ask, "what was the general purpose?" And enforce it this way.
Prior interpretations and precedent
If something is ambiguous, judges should look at prior interpretations and precedents
5 Limits on Power of Judges
Courts & Other Judges
Public Review of Public Decisions
Fear of Public Reversal
Political Factors
Censure
Limit 1 - Courts & Other Judges
Are not supposed to issue "advisory opinions"
Ripeness
case must be ripe or dismissed
defined as genuine, legitimate, and relevant
Mootness
A moot case must be dismissed
Moot = already been resolved
Standing
Plaintiff must have standing or case must be dismissed
Standing is defined as a tangible state in the case
Public Review of Public Decisions
People will publicly review a judge's decisions, and they are subject to ridicule
Fear of Public Reversal
It is embarrassing to have a decision reversed by another judge
Political Factors
A. elections - poor judges may not be re-elected B. Impeachment - poor judges may be impeached C. Recall - states that elect their judges may recall
Censure
If you're a judge and misbehave, other judges may launch an investigation
Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
Certain courts can only handle certain cases
Subject matter limits this
Ex. Small claims court limited to $5k in MD & VA, 10k in DC
Trial Courts
courts that listen to testimony, consider evidence, and decide the facts in a disputed situation
Appeals Courts *(Will NOT look at new evidence)
court that reviews decisions made in lower district courts.
"State Supreme Court"
MD has Court of Special appeals & Court of appeals
venue of a case (where?)
Wherever most convenient for defendant
typically where they live, sometimes where employed
Jurisdiction
The authority of a court to hear a case. Must at least have two of these three:
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
In Persona Jurisdiction
In Rem jurisdiction
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
is it relevant to a court's normal hearings?
court will throw a case out if its wrong or correct venue
In Persona Jurisdiction (any of the 4 types)
Defendant is a resident of the state
Consent from defendant to be sued (rich people)
Plaintiff physically serves defendant the complaint while they're in that state
Defendant does business or has wrongdoing in that state
forum-selection clause
A provision in a contract designating the court, jurisdiction, or tribunal that will decide any disputes arising under the contract.
concurrent jurisdiction
Two or more courts have concurrent or simultaneous jurisdiction to decide a case
ex. When a crime begins in one state and continues in multiple, this occurs
writ certiorarian
Supreme court decides which cases to take
~80 a year accepted, thousands of requests
original and exclusive jurisdiction
A case that ONLY gets seen by supreme court and not taken to it from earlier levels
Ex. Two states suing each other
Original but not exclusive jurisdiction
Case could be started in supreme court but doesn't have to
ex. Citizen sues citizen of other state, state sues federal gov
Appointment and removal of federal judges
US president nominates you
Senate must confirm by majority vote
house of reps not involved
lifetime job, unless impeached or retired
if impeached, ONLY 2/3 senate vote will convict and remove you.
Burger King Case
Two guys in michigan enter franchise agreement
dispute over venue
Franchise sues them in FL, not MI, due to their HQ/significant connection to FL
Civili Procedure
rules that define how a case makes it way through courts
52 sets of rules for each state, all very similar
plaintiff has to prove case by preponderance of evidence and:
Electronically file complaint
serve defendant by handing them complaint
If sued, defendant has the 4 following options:
Motion to Dismiss
Default Judgement
Counterclaim
List legal defenses to claim
motion to dismiss definition
asking to throw a case out
when the plaintiff doesn't appeal, case is thrown
default judgement scenario
plaintiff wins a case because defendant ignores it
Counterclaim
Suing somebody back for a reason in the same case, after they sue you
List legal defenses to plaintiffs claim (meaning)
Some valid legal defense, invalidating the plaintiff's case
ex. Time expiration
4 Types of Discovery
Depositions
Requests for Admissions
Requests for Documents
Interrogatories
Deposition
a witness's testimony given under oath
Interrogatories
A series of written questions for which written answers are prepared by a party to a lawsuit, usually with the assistance of the party's attorney, and then signed under oath.
Requests for Admission (RFAs)
Similar to interrogatories, but questioning only has yes/no answers
Request For Documents (RFDs)
send a request or a list of documents that you would like to receive from the other side
2 Discovery Misbehavior types
Destroying Documents
Non-cooperation in the discovery process
4 Types of Punishment for discovery misbehavior
Criminal Prosecution for obstruction of justice
Judge tells jury that you destroyed documents
Judge can prevent you from using arguments
Judge can give jury instructions on how to approach case
Motion for Summary Judgement (MSJ)
After discovery, you review evidence & write up a motion
you attach the motion to relevant evidence, tell the judge you won the case before it starts
either or both sides may do this
often filed, rarely granted (25% of the time)
if judge grants this, case is over. Other party may appeal as well.
Civil Trials
often good for lawyers (+$ fees), not great for either p/d party
Loser pays other parties lawyer fee $
no lawyer has to be involved unless one or party has one. Once one is involved, there must be one on both sides
5 step Trial Process
Lawyers give opening statements
Plaintiff puts on witnesses, and defendant cross examines
Defendant puts on witnesses, and plaintiff cross examines
Rebuttal witnesses come on
Closing statements
motion for a directed verdict
After cross examination occurs, defendant may say that plaintiffs witnesses did not prove plaintiffs case, or vice versa
easy to do, so usually both parties will
rarely granted
Delivery of Case Decisions (with NO jury)
Judge makes the decision
May be quick or instantaneous, but the judge typically takes time to think it out
Delivery of Case Decisions (With Jury)
Judge will instruct Jury how to deliver verdict
Jury will make a decision in private, will come back and deliver verdict via either option that they select before the case:
General Verdict form
Special Verdict form
General Verdict Form
Says who won the case & how much money is awarded
Special Verdict Form
Says who won the case, how much money is awarded, & how the decision was made
Motion: JNOV - Judgment not withstanding the verdict
Asking the Judge to throwout the jury's decision
Appeals court will not...
Locate or accept new evidence
3 ways of Enforcing The Judgement
Writ of Execution
Order of Wage
Bank Garnishment
Writ of Execution
Sheriff seizes property and sells to satisfy judgment
Order of Wage
order to defendant's employer to pay a certain percentage of income until judgement is satisfied
Bank Garnishment
Judge orders defendant's bank to pay you a certain percentage of their money every month
class action lawsuit
lawsuit brought on behalf of a class or group of people against a defendant
-ex, lawsuits brought by those who have suffered from smoking against tobacco companies.
Why is class action useful?
Efficiency
improved chances of winning
What 3 things must be true in order to pursue class action?
Does everybody in class have common questions of law and fact? (Did everybody actually get wronged and was the wronging legitimate)
Class has to be big enough, (minimum 25-50 people)
The class representatives must accurately represent the class
What happens if class representatives don't accurately represent the class?
They must be removed or the case is thrown out
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Alternative ways to handle disputes rather than going to court
Arbitration
Mediation
Arbitration
settling a dispute by agreeing to accept the decision of an impartial outsider, (usually 1-3, almost always 3 arbitrators involved)
Arbitrators will...
Have industry expertise
hold a hearing at their office
make a decision within 30 days
Pros of Arbitration
Quicker & Cheaper than court
less complicated than court
Cons of Arbitration
virtually impossible to appeal if you lose
Mediators will...
Hold a hearing at their office
Try to negotiate a decision but do NOT have authority to make a decision, unlike arbitrators
Mediation
A method of settling disputes outside of court by using the services of a neutral third party, called a mediator.
85-90% of mediations come to an agreement, 10-15% do not
State Regulatory Power (US Constitution)
US constitution does not say what states cannot do, but says what congress can do
State and US constitutions can both apply and be concurrent, (ex. CA has stricter environmental laws)
Federal Regulatory Power (US Constitution)
article 1 section 8 of US Constitution limits what congress can make laws about in 3 basic ways:
Regulating commerce amongst the states
Taxation
Spending our Money
Congress can regulate intrastate business if...
It has a big effect on interstate business
Gonzalez Case
Controlled Substances Act (CSA) - criminalizes cannabis and classifies drugs based on how dangerous they are
FBI plans to seize backyard plants from two women in CA, even though CA permits this
Supreme court agrees with FBI because backyard plants can translate to interstate drug distribution
Lopez Case
Bringing unloaded gun into high school can't be regulated by Gun-Free School Zones Act
Ruled unconstitutional because not interstate commerce
Morrison Case
Violence Against Women Act - states you can file damages in federal court if victim of a gender related violent crime
Supreme Court rules unconstitutional because it doesn't deal with interstate commerce