Key Terms

Law, p. 3 A body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by controlling authority, and having legal binding force.

Criminal laws, p. 3 Laws designed to protect society, which results in penalties to the violator such as fines or imprisonment.

Civil laws, p. 3 Laws designed to compensate parties for money lost as a result of another’s conduct.

Substantive laws, p. 3 Laws that provide individuals with rights and create certain duties.

Procedural laws, p. 3 Laws that provide a structure and set out rules for pursuing substantive rights.

Public laws, p. 3 Laws derived from a government entity.

Private laws, p. 3 Laws recognized as binding between two parties even though no specific statute or regulation provides for the rights of the parties.

Black’s Law Dictionary, p. 4 The leading legal dictionary.

Counsel, p. 6 Another name for an attorney.

Constitutional law, p. 7 The body of law interpreting state and federal constitutions.

Statutory law, p. 7 The body of law created by the legislature and approved by the executive branch of state and federal governments.

Common law, p. 7 Law that has not been passed by the legislature, but rather is made by the courts and is based on the fundamentals of previous cases with similar facts.

Administrative law, p. 7 Law made by government administrative agencies.

Ordinances, p. 9 Laws made by government administrative agencies.

Precedent, p. 11 When courts apply the law of a previous case to current cases with similar facts.

Remedies, p. 12 Judicial actions, which can be monetary or equitable, taken by courts that are intended to compensate an injured party in a civil lawsuit.

Equitable relief, p. 12 A type of remedy, including injunctions and restraining orders, that is designed to compensate a party when money alone will not do but instead forces the other party to do (or not do) something.

Secondary sources, p. 13 Sources of law that have no independent authority or legally binding effect but can be used to illustrate a point or clarify a legal issue.

Restatements of the Law, p. 13 A collection of uniform legal principles focused in a particular area of the law that contains statements of common law legal principles and rules in a given area of law.

Model state statutes, p. 13 Statutes drafted by legal experts to be used as a model for state legislatures to adopt in their individual jurisdictions in order to increase the level of uniformity and fairness across courts in all states.

Doctrine of stare decisis, p. 14 The principle that similar cases with similar facts under similar circumstances should have a similar outcome.

Case precedent, p. 14 The opinion of an appellate court, which is binding on all trial courts from that point in time onward so that any similar case would be decided according to the precedent.