Johnson- Test- Chapter 1
Terms
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- Intrastate Commerce vs. Interstate Commerce
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Intra- commerce within a single state
Inter- commerce between multiple states - Statutes
- laws enacted by state or federal legislatures
- UCC (Uniform Commercial Code)
- a uniform law enacted in part by all fifty states to create certainty in the area of commercial contracts and to make the law consistent with common business practices
- What is law in the U.S. modeled after?
- English common law
- Stare decisis
- to stand on decided cases; the practice of deciding new cases by considering former decisions
- Criminal law
- law related to wrongs committed against the public, punishable by fines, imprisonment, or both
- Crime
- punishable offense against society
- Equitable solution
- a fair solution
- Tort
- a private or civil wrong for which the law grants a remedy
- Constitution
- a document that sets forth the framework of a government and its relationship to the people it governs
- Stages/development of the legal system
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1. Individuals take revenge for the wrongs done to them.
2. Awards of money or goods are substituted for revenge.
3. Court systems are formed.
4. A central authority figure intervenes to prevent and punish wrongs. - Common law vs. Positive law
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-Common law is law based on the current standards or customs of the people
-Positive law is law based on the dictates of a central political authority - Criminal law va. Civil law
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-Criminal law is law related to wrongs committed against the public, punishable by fines, imprisonment, or both
-Civil law is law related to the duties that exist generally between persons or between persons and the government, except the duty not to commit crimes - Ordinance
- legislation enacted by a town, city, or county board or commission
- Precedent
- court decisions become precedent for later cases
- How many Constitutions do we have?
- 51
- Case law
- rules of law announced in the court decisions
- Procedural law
- legal rules for processing civil and criminal cases through the court system
- Substantive law
- law that defines duties, establishes rights, and prohibits wrongs
- Laws
- enforceable rules of conduct in society
- Why is precedent important?
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-Makes our legal system and courts more efficient; serves as a guideline rather than starting from scratch
-Gives stability to our legal systems
-Keeps personal biases from entering into judges' decisions - When is precedent overturned?
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-When reasoning used in previous court decisions in no longer valid
-Changes in society and technology - Inquisitorial system
- a legal system that allows judges to investigate, question witnesses, and seek out evidence (Germany, Argentina, France, etc.)
- Examples of Criminal Law
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-Murder
-Theft
-Speeding - Examples of Civil Law
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-Breach of contract
-Fight resulting in personal injury
-Personal injury resulting from an accident - Statute of limitations
- a statute that requires anyone from claiming a legal right against another to begin proceedings to enforce the right
- Why do we have statute of limitations?
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-fairness
-memory- witnesses can't recall
-procedural issues are argued by the attorney before a judge because they are questions of law
-can cause a winning case to lose