Chapter 1: Law and Legal Reasoning

Legal Realist School

The idea that each person has intrinsic biases that impact their decisions

Procedural Law

The methods of enforcing the rights established by substantive law

Case Briefing

Used by legal professionals to analyze court decisions that are relevant to their clients' cases

State Statutory Law

Created by elected members of the state legislature

Stare Decisis

creates predictability in the legal system

Common Law Developed from

the unification of local customs and laws in feudal England

Procedural Law

A hearing or court case is governed by

party names, location of the published case, court, and date of decision

A legal citation for a court decision is used by legal professionals to research the law, and includes:

Congress

Creates federal statutory law

IRS

Example of of federal agency regulations that impact business operations

Substantive Law

Governs a person's rights and responsibilities

May Create New Precedent

If a trial court judge is deciding an issue that has never come before the court (a case of first impression), they:

Under Common Law

In a case of first impression, a judge may use persuasive authorities rather than precedents

United States Reports

The abbreviation "U.S." in the legal citation Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) references the:

Natural Law

The belief that as humans we are all entitled to certain fundamental rights

Tools to locate a court decision

online legal research engines such as Lexis, Westlaw, or Bloomberg bound volumes of reported court decisions, organized by jurisdiction, date, and courts