Chapter 1: Introduction to Legal Principles and Authorities

Why locate primary authority first before secondary authority?

- courts will look to and consider primary authority before considering secondary - primary authority leads to secondary authority sources - court opinion references to key secondary sources

U.S. Constitution

1. Establish and define federal government powers: executive, legislative, and judicial 2. Establish broad powers of federal and state government, define relationship between state and federal 3. Define broad terms of rights of members of society

Chapter Hypothetical - Ms. Stone v. Employer

1. Identify and Separate primary & secondary authority - primary authority --> enacted law: Title VII Civil Rights Act 1964 prohibit gender discrimination in employment; section 59 - 9-4 state statute state as Title VII -> case law: Eric v. Coll Inc, federal court case employer discrimination, violate Title VII; Albert v. Conrad Supplies, state supreme court case violate state statute - secondary authority: 2 law review articles gender discrimination; Article 1 context Title VII article 2 question state statute 2. Organize the presentation of primary authority - enacted law: determine all scenarios with state/federal law -> to reach federal, state must try to exhaust efforts first, cause of action possible in state/federal court -> no state remedy, federal automatically decide or if federal not applicable -->provide memo summarize elements/requirement law applicable and analysis - case law: check cases on point (sufficient similarity between key facts and legal issue in court opinion and client case for court opinion to apply as precedent) -> if enacted law clear with no question of application less need for case law -> if federal law exclusively govern, state case Albert v. Conrad not apply -> if state law only apply, federal case not apply 3. organize the presentation of secondary authority - Primary authority present, use secondary authority to suppose or find opposition to primary authority argument

When does state decisis not apply?

1. decision made earlier outdated because of changed conditions/policies ex. plessy v. ferguson originally allow "separate but equal" but brown v. board of education, Supreme court overrule because find "separate but equal" no longer acceptable 2. legislative enacted legislation effectively overrule earlier court decision ex. stevens v. soro define "on the job" when leave for work until home. Now state legislature redefine as time on employer premises. Courts no longer follow precedent. 3. earlier decision poorly reasoned or undesirable results ex. ellen v. employer, if new court say "discrimination based on gender" does not include sexual preference, subsequent courts don't need to follow precedent of illegal gender based discrimination

Law

A body of enforceable rules governing relationships among individuals and between individuals and their society.

Restatements of the Law

A collection of uniform legal principles focused in a particular area of the law, which contains statements of common law legal principles and rules in a given area of law.

Court of Appeals

A court with appellate jurisdiction that hears appeals from the decisions of lower courts. ex. circuit courts

Personal Jurisdiction

A court's authority over the parties to a lawsuit and resolve legal dispute ex. NY state court case can't rule over Ohio resident

Constitution

A document which spells out the principles by which a government runs and the fundamental laws that govern a society

law review

A law school publication containing both case summaries written by student members and scholarly articles written by law professors, judges, and attorneys. These articles focus on current developments in the law, case decisions, and legislation.

Common Law

A legal system based on custom and court rulings, case law

State Court System

A state judicial structure. Most states have at least three court levels: trial courts, appellate courts (court of appeals), and a state supreme court.

State Supreme Court

A state's highest court which typically decides matters of law appealed from lower courts

Federalism

A system in which power is divided between the national and state governments ex. state law prohibit US flag burn, US constitution allow free speech, US constitution rule over state law

Persuasive Authority

Any legal authority or source of law that a court may look to for guidance but need not follow when making its decision.

U.S. Supreme Court

Highest court in the US, if party disagree with appeals court, approved if Court believes matter involves constitution issue, challenged decision conflicts with federal court decision, or conflict between opinions of court of appeals

Secondary Authority

Magazine or Law Review articles, treatises, columns, etc., generally a knowledgeable commentary on a legal issue

Enacted Law

The body of law adopted by the people or legislative bodies, including constitutions, statutes, ordinances, and administrative rules and regulations.

Administrative Law

The body of law created by administrative agencies (in the form of rules, regulations, orders, and decisions) in order to carry out their duties and responsibilities.

Statutory Law

The body of law enacted by legislative bodies (as opposed to constitutional law, administrative law, or case law).

State Constitution

The document that describes the basic policies, procedures, and institutions of the government of a specific state, much as the U.S. Constitution does for the federal government.

Legal Encyclopedia

a collection of legal information; a secondary source of the law

ordinance

a local law

Statutes

a written law passed by a legislative body, declaring rights and duties, command/prohibit code of conduct general AKA. acts, ordinances, codes, statutes ex. Section 335 1-4 Uniform Owner Resident Relations: rental agreement b/w owner and resident

precedent

an earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances. ex. State v. Ahrens allow bail unless pose clear/present threat, cases for bail based on this case

authority

anything court can rely on when deciding issue, include law, constitutions and statutes, and non law sources

concurrent jurisdiction

authority for both state and federal courts to hear and decide cases ex. dispute between people in different states matter exceed $75,000

Mandatory Authority

authority or source of law a court must rely or follow when reaching decision primary authority is mandatory authority when it governs legal question or issue decided by court, secondary authority never mandatory unless no primary

Hierarchy of Law

constitution, enacted law, then common law/case law

Examples of mandatory authority

enacted law 1. identify all laws that may govern the question 2. identify the elements of the law or statute 3. apply the facts of the case to the elements to determine how law and statute applies, if matches facts raised by legal issue, law applies and governs case law: court opinion 1. Must be on point 2. Must have been issued by a higher court in that jurisdiction

trial court

first court to hear a dispute

State Trial Courts

general jurisdiction courts in each state and limited jurisdiction

Treatises

hornbook: comprehensive treatment of specific area of law, refer to statutes and key cases in area, commentaries on law

questions of law

judge decide how law applies and what it is

questions of fact

jury decide if person performed act, judge does it without jury

Legal Analysis & Writing

know law and principles governing determination of law application to client facts

Case Law

law created by courts in absence of enacted law and law created when courts interpret or apply enacted law

Law dictionaries

legal definitions

Enabling Legislation

legislation that gives appropriate officials the authority to implement or enforce the law, administrative law is result ex. EPA implement Clean Air Act, Administrative law give specific detail to implement law, enacted law cover broad spectrum

secondary authority as persuasive authority

no mandatory authority but persuasive primary authority , secondary authority can be used to support primary authority

courts of general jurisdiction

no restrictions on the subject matter they may address unless specified as state or federal ex. US Tax Court limited over dispute of federal taxes, state court cannot hear case

annotations

notes added by way of comment or explanation on law with select court opinions, how issues treated nationally (majority and minority law), questions and issues, and court decisions

primary as persuasive authority in case law

primary authority used as persuasive authority (persuasive precedent), if it doesn't apply to govern situation, it's not mandatory authority. Court can be guided/persuaded to adopt rule established in another court opinion. ex. trial court in state wrote opinion on legal issue, higher court not bound by lower court opinion but can consider and adopt the rule and reasoning of the lower court

Case Law/Common Law

the body of law made up of courts, general legal rules, doctrines, and principles adopted by courts when interpreting existing law or in creating law when absence of controlling enacted law or application/interpretation of enacted law unclear

Primary Authority

the law itself, enacted and case law

Jurisdiction

the official power to make legal decisions and judgments.

Subject Matter Jurisdiction

the power of a court to hear a particular type of case

State decisis

the practice of using earlier judicial rulings as a basis for deciding cases ex. Ellen v. employer, fired for gay, supreme court follow gender discrimination cases to rule, now following cases follow this precedent

When is secondary authority used?

to obtain background or understanding of law specificities, locate primary authority on question researched, support court decision when there's no primary authority governing legal question or unclear how primary authority applies to question

Federal Court System

trial court, court of appeals, US Supreme Court

primary authority as persuasive authority in enacted law

when a court interprets term not defined in act but may apply definition of term in another act ex Gender discrimination not in Fair Housing Act but in State Fair Loan Act. Fair Loan Act persuasive authority to apply definition of gender discrimination