Sources of Law in the U.S.

for a journalism law & ethics class. not for a law class or government & politics class

Constitutional law

-supreme laws of a jurisdiction

-must be obeyed when lesser laws conflict with it; laws that violate it are unenforcable

-penalties for violation can include injunctions, fines, imprisonment, impeachment, bans from holding future government office

a constitution

provides plan for establishment & organization of the government; outlines duties, responsibilities, and powers of various government elements, including branches and officials and how officials are held accountable; and guarantees certain basic rights to people

Vagueness doctrine

constitutional law doctrine that says a law involving speech is unconstitutional if a person of ordinary intelligence wouldn’t be able to tell what speech is allowed and what speech isn’t

Overbreadth doctrine

constitutional law doctrine that says a law involving speech is unconstitutional if it’s written so broadly that it prohibits constitutionally protected speech as well as speech that isn’t protected

Executive orders

-orders from elected officers of government like the president or governor

-these orders can be overturned by the legislature or a court

-power to issue these orders can be implicit or explicit

-they are powers the law specifically says a chief executive had

Implicit powers

powers the law strongly suggests a chief executive has, w/o specifically saying so

implied to exist based on a logical reading & understanding of a law

Regulatory/administration law

rules and regulations created by state & federal administrative agencies overseeing certain areas to resolve complex problems that require specialized knowledge or expertise

when agency actions can be challenged in courts and overturned

• original act establishing an agency or commission is unconstitutional

• commission or agency exceeds its authority

• commission or agency violates its own rules

• there’s insufficient evidence to support the agency decision to issue the regulation

Stautory laws

-state, federal, or local laws established by the legislature and signed by the executive

-can be vetoed before by executives instead of being passed into law but then overridden by the legislature

-can be struck down by courts if deemed unconstitutional

-includes all criminal laws

-anticipates problems that common law doesn’t

-constitutions give legislative bodies the power to enact these kinds of laws

-these laws are codified or maintained in official listings of laws called codes

Common law

-law established by federal and state courts

-decisions are precedents set by state & federal Supreme Court & appellate courts

-the remedy in these kinds of cases is damages

Damages

reparations for a wrong and meant to punish &/or discourage similar behavior

judicial review

the right of any court to declare any law or government action invalid because it violates a state or federal constitutional provision. Higher courts can overturn lower court decisions

Equity law

-a branch of law that is similar to and evolved from common law, and requires a different remedy than common law cases

-useful in cases where there’s an immediate threat of significant harm and if the harm occurs it may be irreparable after the fact. Plus it’s more important to stop the harm than get $ for it afterwards

-rulings come in form of judicial decrees and the remedy is an injunctionx

-these kinds of cases usually don’t involve juries

injunction

directs somone to stop doing something they shouldn’t be doing