Law Chapters 1-5
Terms
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- Jurisprudence
- Study of law and legal philosophy
- Law
- Rules and regulations that regulate people within a society
- Rule of Law
- Requires that laws be known in advance and must be created by a democratic process
- 7 Goals of a Legal System
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1. Protect basic human rights
2. Promote fairness
3. Help resolve conflicts
4. Promote order and stability
5. Promote desirable social and economic behavior
6. Represent the will of the majority
7. Protect the rights of minorities - Values of Law
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Moral (right and wrong)
Economic (wealth and property)
Political (government-individual relationship)
Social (relating to society) - Human Rights
- Basic privileges that one has as a human being
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Statement of basic human rights, including liberty, education, political and religious freedom, and economic well-being
- Cultural Rights
- Rights that exist in certain cultures
- Radical Individualism
- The result of the US's emphasis on human rights, losing a sense of community by focusing on individual rights
- Criminal Law
- Branch of law dealing with crime and punishment
- Civil Law
- All law that does not involve criminal law, usually dealing with private rights
- Civil Action
- Noncriminal lawsuit, brought to enforce a right or redress a wrong
- Defendant
- Person against whom a claim has been made
- Plaintiff
- The injured party in a conflict
- Limited Government
- A government has only the powers given to it by the people
- Separation of Powers
- Division of power among the branches of govenment (if you don't know this by now...)
- Legislative Branch
- Branch that passes laws, the House and the Senate
- Judicial Branch
- Branch that interprets law and resolves legal questions
- Executive Branch
- Administrative branch, the president, agencies
- Checks and Balances
- Power of each branch to limit the other brances so as to prevent an abuse of power
- Judicial Review
- Process by which courts decide whether laws passed by Congress or state legislatures are constitutional
- Bill of Rights
- First 10 amendments to the Constitution, which guarantee basic individual rights
- Senate
- 100 members, 2 from each state
- House of Representatives
- 400-some members, representation based on population
- Federal Statutes
- Deal with national issues, like defense, labor relations, civil rights, taxes, economy
- States Rights
- States can pass their own laws, but are not allowed to coin money or declare war or make treaties with other countries
- Bill
- Draft of a proposed law being considered by a legislaturel
- Legislative Intent
- What the lawmakers meant, in a case where a law is unclear
- Regulatory Agency
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Organizations authorized by the government to make laws more specific, such as
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)
FDA (Food and Drug Administration)
FCC (Federal Communications Commission) - Public Hearings
- Public proceedings in which people can present their opinions about a bill
- Treaty
- Agreement between nations
- Advocacy
- Active support or argument for a cause
- Lobbying
- Influencing or persuading legislators to act or vote a certain way
- Lobbyist
- Someone who lobbies
- Grassroots
- Lobbying group that arose from the general public
- Initiative
- Voters can propose a law and submit it to the legislature for approval
- Referendum
- Issues are voted on directly by the citizens instead of government representatives
- Recall
- Removal of an elected official office by a vote of the people
- Voting
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You're kidding
You must be 18, a citizen, a resident of your community, and a registered voter - Suffrage
- The right to vote (do you have any idea how many papers I've written on this...)
- Campaign Finance Reform
- We Fight Corruption And Money Issues In Elections wh00t
- Negotiation
- Discussing an issue to reach a settlement or agreement
- Settlement
- ...an agreement
- Conflict
- A disagreement between people or parties, and should I be pulling out my old social justice notes? Isn't this the thing that had the spiral - no, wait, that was violence
- Steps in Settling a Dispute
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Prepare for negotiation: identify the issue, separate demands from interests, consider both perspectives, come up with solutions
Negotiation: listening, working together, understanding, asking questions, create more solutions, reach an agreement
Post-negotiation: agree on things, be willing to return to the problem if things don't workout - Arbitration
- An impartial person settles the argument without anyone going to court, the decision is usually binding
- Mediation
- Resolving a conflict with a neutral third party who has no official authority
- Ombudspersons
- Person who has the power to investigate reported complaints and help achieve fair settlements
- Trial Courts
- Courts that listen to testimony, consider evidence, and decide the facts in a disputed situation
- Parties
- Peopke directly involved in any legal matter
- Prosecutor
- State or feeral government's attorney in a criminal case
- Adversarial System
- Opposing parties present theirlegal conflicts before a judge and jury
- Inquisitional System
- The judge actively asks questions and presents evidence
- Appeals Court
- Court in which appeals from trial-court decisions are heard
- Error of Law
- Mistake made by the judge in legal proceedings or rulings that may allow a case to be appealed
- Precedent
- Court decision on legal questions that guide future cases with similar questions
- Dissenting Opinion
- Judges disagree and why
- Concurring Opinion
- Judges agree and why (for a different reason than the majority)
- What Do State Courts Do?
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Deal with specific things: family, traffic, criminal, small claims, divorce, custody, juveniles
States have appeals courts and a state supreme court, which has the final say in state law interpretation - What Do Federal Courts Do?
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Courts of appeals handle appeals from district trial courts
The US Court of Appeals has jurisdiction by subject matter, not geography
The Federal Claims Court hears claims for big money damages
And also there are the US Patent and Trademark Office, the US Tax Coourt and Court of Veterans Appeals - What Do Tribal Courts Do?
- Native American justice systems have jurisdiction over reservations, their authority can be delegated by the federal government
- Inherent Powers
- Tribal powers that are automatically granted, including family relationships, reservation membership and reservation law
- Delegated Powers
- Powers given to the reservation by the federal government
- How Are Supreme Court Justices Chosen?
- Presential appointment
- What Do International Courts Do?
- Settle disputes based on international law