Introduction to the legal system and legal principles (1)

Anarchy

A state of society without rulers, leaders, or formal governmental authority. [1, 2]

The State of Nature

Political Philosophy used to describe hypothetical condition of humanity before the creation of the state or government
Created by Thomas Hobbes in his 1651 book Leviathan
“Life in the state of nature is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”
So terrible that people wanted to create a social contract
Ex) Lord of the Flies

Social Contract

People trade a portion of their natural freedom and submit to a governing authority in exchange for security and social order.

Deterrence

The practice of discouraging an action, crime, or military attack by instilling fear, doubt, or the threat of a significant penalty or consequence

The Social Network (Movie)

So many errors made with law, Eduardo singed a contract that would dilute the number, and value of his shares in Facebook, Eduardo sued and settled for $38 billion

Winklevoss Twins

Hired Zuckerberg, no employment contract and no NDA, Settle for $65 million, but they were early investors in bitcoin and now worth $6 billion

Kill a Mocking Bird

No fictional lawyer has been more admired than Atticus Finch
Woman makes a false allegation of rape against a black man, Finch is chosen to defend him

Better Call Saul

Saul Goodman is a terrible evil lawyer

Why do we have lawyers?

Necessary to help people avoid unintentionally or intentionally violating laws.
Is both a sword and a shield with the interaction with others

4th Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.
And no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized.
“The people”: Individuals, businesses, and corporations, have the right to be free from warrantless searches.

Closely Regulated Businesses

Is a commercial enterprise that has a long history of intense government supervision, meaning it operates under an exception to the Fourth Amendment that permits warrantless administrative inspections
Ex) Auto junkyards, pawn shops, restaurants

Husky Stadium Case

Is it reasonable or unreasonable to search people going into Husky Stadium without a warrant?

legal precedent

A court decision that serves as an authority or guide for deciding subsequent cases with identical or similar facts and legal issues.
Ex) Jacobson Vs State of Seattle (Grateful Dead Concert, unwarranted searches due to drugs being brought in) Jacobson was searched and found to possess drugs. He was charged with a crime.
Trial Court rules the search reasonable, Jacobson appeals and wins at the Washington Supreme Court.

Exceptions of Warrant Requirement

1) Consensual Searches
2) Stop and Frisk Searches (Supported by “reasonable suspicion” - that you have been involved in criminal activity)
3) Border Searches
4) Hot Pursuit - Police may enter premises without a warrant if they suspect a crime has been committed, and delay would endanger lives.
5) Airport and courthouse searches

Standing (locus standi)

Legal doctrine that focuses on whether a prospective plaintiff can show that some personal legal interest has been invaded by the defendant.

Case or Controversy Clause

Courts do not simply give advisory opinions. Courts resolve real disputes between parties. For a court to become involved, there must been actual case or controversy.

United States vs Skipwith (1973)

Defendant was stopped at an airport boarding gate, because he fit the profile of a potential skyjacker. A warrantless search of the defendant produced cocaine.
United States won

Three-part test

1) Public Necessity

Reasonableness requires that the courts must weight the necessity of the search in terms of possible harm to the public

2) Efficacy of the Search

The equation must also take into account the likelihood that the search procedure will be effective in averting the potential harm - without going too far.
Is the search going to do the job?

3) Degree of Intrusion

Evaluate the degree and nature of intrusion into the privacy of the person and the effects of the citizen which the search entails.

Common Law

Law developed by American and English courts by decisions in cases. Unlike statutes, it is not passed by a legislative body and is not a specific set of rules; rather, it must be interpreted from the many decisions that have been written over time.

stare decisis

the use of precedent by courts; the use of prior decisions to guide decision making in cases before the courts.

Public Law

A classification of law, generally denoting laws that affect relationships between people and their governments.

Private Law

A classification of law, generally denoting laws that affect relationships between people.

Criminal Law

governs or defines legal wrongs, or crimes, committed against society. Wrongdoers are punished for violating the rules of society. A person found guilty of a criminal offense is usually fined or imprisoned.

felony

a serious class of crime—such as rape, murder, or robbery—that may be punishable by imprisonment in excess of one year or death.

misdemeanor

a lesser crime that is neither a felony nor treason, punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment in other than state or federal penitentiaries.

preponderance of the evidence substantive law

in civil trials, the burden of persuasion to win a verdict requires that the plaintiff prove its claim by having the majority or bulk of the evidence on its side.

civil law

(l) laws, written or unwritten, that specify the duties that exist between and among people, as opposed to criminal matters; or (2) codified or statutory law, used in many Western European countries and Japan, as distinguished from the common or judge-made law used in the United Kingdom and the United States.

reasonable doubt

the belief that prevents one from being convinced of a defendant’s guilt.

procedural law

the rules of the court system that deal with the manner in which lawsuits are initiated and go forward. Court systems generally have rules regarding pleadings, process, evidence, and practice.