Intro to Law - Segment One

  • What is the law?

  1. The Constitution

  2. Statutes

    1. US Code

    2. Local Statutes

    3. Etc

  3. Case Law/Judicial Opinions

  4. Administrative Agencies/Policies

  • The Constitution

    • Supreme Law of the Land in the United States

    • Established in 1789

    • Flexible enough to be relevant in 2025 but rigid enough to be the base upon which all of our laws are built

    • Outlines branches of government & balance of powers

      • Executive

      • Legislative 

      • Judicial - SCOTUS

        • Outlined in article 3 of the US Constitution

    • Bill of Rights

      • 1st 10 Amendments

      • Based on Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (property)

    • Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)

      • Highest Court in the USA

      • Nine Justices - Including a Chief Justice

      • Court Packing - Increasing the number of justices on the court

      • All justices nominated by POTUS and confirmed by the Senate

      • Lifetime Tenure

      • SCOTUS has the power of JUDICIAL REVIEW

        • Supreme Court’s ability to determine if a law is constitutional or not

  • The Court System

    • Written judicial opinions

    • Two Different Spheres

      • Federal

  1. SCOTUS

    1. Has power over everything both Federal and State

  2. Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal

    1. Different regions

  3. District Court

  • State

  1. Highest State Court

    1. PA Supreme Court

  2. Intermediate/Appeals Court

    1. PA Court of Appeals

  3. Trial Court

    1. County Courts



Civil Law

Criminal Law

  • Preponderance of the evidence (above 50% sure)

  • “Beyond all reasonable doubt”

  • Plaintiff

  • Prosecutor (DA/Government)

  • Monetary Damages

  • Fine or Imprisonment



  • Researching the Law

    • Purpose

      • Define specific answers to specific legal questions

        • Most Impactful >> Jurisdiction (Reach of the Court)

      • Federal law is typically overarching 

      • State Laws

      • Local Laws

      • More research is done on state and local laws than federal even though federal law is more overarching

    • “Expert” lawyer

      • Juris Doctor (J.D.)

        • JDs are blanket degrees for any area of law, you cannot get a JD in a specific legal area

      • Duty to your client (to live up to their expectations)

        • Technically with a JD you can take any case you want in the state you are BAR certified in, but if you take a case outside your specialty you are EXPECTED to learn and study property law.

        • Typically most lawyers will refer you to someone who specializes in that field of law

      • Beware Absolutes

        • Legal professionals should avoid absolute answers as a general rule

        • Absolutes are bad business practice 

        • The Court (Judges & Juries) are the ones who decide so even if you think you have a “slam dunk” case, something could go wrong or a judge/jury could rule in the wrong way

        • Cover your butt

        • BUT

          • Can have confidence in your legal interpretation

          • Can trust your legal research, and your ability to do legal research

          • Can trust your experience

          • Can trust precedent 

            • Stare Decisis - “Stand by prior decisions” aka the Rule of Precedent

      • Best Research Methods

        • Case Law is the go-to model of research

          • Revolutionized by the internet (and may even further revolutionized by AI)

          • Find the “case on point” and then spider web out from that via cases that are mentioned in your point case

          • Beware

            • There is an ocean of research and it is incredibly easy to get lost, therefore you must learn the right way as soon as you can in order to make it easier in the future

            • Utilize trusted sources.

              • General google/internet searched (wiki) are not trusted sources

              • While it is not a bad idea to start there, make sure if you are taking information from an untrusted source you are checking it with a trusted source

      • Legal Research Databases - CALRs (Computer Assisted Legal Research)

        • “The Big Three”

  1. WestLaw

  2. LexisNexis

  3. Google Scholar

  4. FindLaw

  5. Oyez

  • Practice makes perfect

  • The Legal System >>> Participants

    • Judges

      • Can be elected or appointed depending on position

      • Various levels

        • District Justice

          • Typically elected

          • Traffic court, small crimes, shoplifting, etc.

          • BAR membership preferred, not required (ONLY at this level, every other level the BAR is required)

            • American Bar Association (ABA)

              • Each state has their own BAR

        • Trial Court Judges

          • Aggravated assault, murder, etc.

          • Divorce & other civil matters (mostly).

        • Appellate Panel Judges

        • Higher State/Federal Appointments

        • SCOTUS

      • Primary Role: Authority - In charge of courtroom.

        • Questions of Law

          • If evidence can be admitted, if evidence was obtained legally, etc. Determined by judge.

        • Questions of Fact

          • Truth or not, was the defendant in X location or not? Is the defendant guilty or not? Determined by jury.

        • Maintaining order in the courtroom

        • Judge instructs the jury on the law

        • Ensures that jury is not tampered with

    • Attorneys

      • Legal professionals with authorization to practice law & give legal advice

        • Authorization comes from the BAR (via a BAR license)

      • Requirements to become an attorney

        • Undergraduate degree

          • Doesn't matter which degree you get for undergrad

          • FOCUS: GPA (incredibly important)

        • Graduation from an ABA approved law school 

          • Qualifications (what makes you attractive):

            • GPA (40%)

            • LSAT (40%)

            • Everything Else (20%)

            • Connections are also important

          • 3 Year J.D.

            • 1L - Weed out year

            • 2L - Flexibility year

            • 3L - Barely there (hands on stuff)

        • Successful completion of a state BAR examination

          • Must study

    • Paralegals

      • Legal professionals without a BAR license

      • Can vary incredibly, covers a large gamut of people

      • Tasks

        • Legal Research

        • Legal Writing - Largest job

        • Case Management

        • Client Management

        • Client Meetings

        • Court Filings

        • Etc

      • The “Catch”

        • Unauthorized practice of law (arguing before a judge, representing a client, etc)

        • Cannot give legal advice

      • Qualifications

        • In general, no license or certification is needed. This doesn’t mean that none exist, they just aren’t required. Gannon University has a paralegal certificate that can be earned and could give you a leg up on other applicants in a law firm. 

      • Benefits of becoming a paralegal

        • Legal writing skills

        • On-the-job experience

    • Legal Secretaries

      • Very general term, could be considered a paralegal (very blurred line)

      • More administrative duties than actual legal work

        • Typically not doing any legal research or writing

        • Moreso filing motions, maybe making templates

      • Duties

        • Prepping of documents

        • Prep work

        • Admin duties (internal workings of law office) 

        • Meetings

        • Answering phones

        • Runners - actual people running over to a courthouse, has moved more so online (fax, email, etc)

      • Could be seen as a stepping stone to becoming a paralegal in some law firms

      • Can include internships

  • Bringing Legal Actions - Basic Steps (“The Life of a Lawsuit”)

  1. File a complaint @ the courthouse

    1. Complaint: Gives the defendant (opposing party) notice of the grounds of the plaintiffs claim(s).

    2. Where the plaintiff (Π) and defendant (Δ) are named

    3. “Race to the courthouse”

  2. An answer is then filed

    1. Answer: Filed by the defendant in response to the complaint, outlining the defendants position.

    2. More of less the defendant’s plea 

  3. Discovery Process

    1. Discovery: Pre-trial device that can be used by a party to obtain information about a lawsuit from the opposing party to assist in preparation for trial.

    2. “Catch-all” term for everything that happens between the complaint & answer and the resolution (trial)

    3. Purpose of Discovery: Merits of the case > everything else

    4. Transparency is key

      1. Strategy is not shared, but nothing else can be kept a secret

  4. Resolution

    1. Many different outcomes

      1. Settlements (plea deal) (most common)

      2. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

      3. Trials (not very common)

Erie County Courthouse

  • State Court >> Trial Court

  • One Primary Entrance

  • Basement

    • “Infocon Area” - Document storage

      • Title searching

    • Juvenile probation

    • Coroner’s Office

    • Domestic Relations

    • Child Custody Office

      • Make recommendations to family court

    • General >>> Vending machines, atm, tables, etc

    • Law Library

      • Attorney Mailboxes

      • Due to the internet, many books there arent used anymore. 

      • Quite, nice place to do work.

  • 1st Floor

    • Map Room/Assessment Office

    • Elections/Voter Registration Office

    • Tax Claims Bureau

    • Central Court

      • District Justices can hold court in Central Court

    • Clerk of Records - Overarching Term

      • Clerk of Courts

        • Handles the filing of all criminal case records

        • Handles all felonies & misdemeanors that occur within Erie County

        • Collection of fines as well as restitution

      • Prothonotary Office

        • Handles the filing of all civil case records

      • Register of Wills

      • Marriage License Bureau

      • Orphans Court

        • Custody

        • Name Changes

        • Adoptions

      • Reorder of Deeds

        • Power of Attorney Forms

        • House Deeds

        • Mortgage Information

  • 2nd Floor

    • Court Administration

      • Court Reporter

      • Jury Staging

      • Criminal & Civil Admin

    • Judges Chambers

      • Courtroom

    • District Attorney's Office

      • DA is the highest law enforcement official in the county

        • Assistant District Attorney’s (ADAs)

      • The DAs office determines all charges for crime in the county.

        • Plea Deals

        • Dropped Charges

        • Etc

  • 3rd Floor

    • Adult Probation

      • “P.O.’s” - Probation/Parole Officers

      • Probation & Parole Cases

        • Probation

          • Probation is typically in lieu of jail time

          • DUI

          • Drug Cases

          • Etc

        • Parole

          • Parole is typically what you go into after you’ve served jail time

  • 4th Floor

    • Warden & Warden’s Office

      • Erie County Prison holding cells

    • Jail vs. Prison

      • Jail

        • County run

        • Awaiting sentence/sentence less than 2 years

      • Prison

        • State run

        • More than a two year sentence

  • 5th Floor

    • Firearm permits

    • “Secure courtrooms”

    • County Executive’s Office

    • County Administrative Offices

    • Sheriff’s (main) Office

      • Police Power

      • The majority of their jurisdiction is the Erie County Courthouse

      • Erie County Sheriffs also serve as bailiffs

      • Prisoner Escort

      • Serving Warrants (especially bench warrants)