chapter one

Triple asterisks (* * *) in an opinion indicate that:

A few words or sentences have been deleted from the opinion for the sake of readability or brevity.

A federal, state, or local government agency established to perform a specific function. Administrative agencies are authorized by legislative acts to make and enforce rules to administer and enforce the acts.

Administrative agency.

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.

Administrative law

According to Aristotle, natural law applies universally to:

All humankind.

When a case is appealed from the original court or jurisdiction to another court or jurisdiction, the party appealing the case is called the:

Appellant.

The party against whom an appeal is taken is referred to as the:

Appellee.

Any source of law that a court must follow when deciding a case.

Binding authority. Include constitutions, statutes, and regulations that govern the issue being decided, as well as court decisions that are controlling precedents within the jurisdiction.

Secondary sources of law are:

Books and articles that summarize and clarify the primary sources of law.

The term used to describe the action of a party who has broken a contract is:

Breach.

The United States Code (U.S.C.) arranges all existing federal laws by:

Broad subject.

Judge-made law, including interpretations of constitutional provisions, of statutes enacted by legislatures, and of regulations created by administrative agencies.

Case Law and Common Law Doctrines

A reference to a publication in which a legal authority—such as a statute or a court decision or other source—can be found is called a:

Citation.

The branch of law dealing with the definition and enforcement of all private or public rights, as opposed to criminal matters.

Civil law

That body of law developed from custom or judicial decisions in English and U.S. courts, not attributable to a legislature.

Common Law

Under what circumstances might a judge rely on case law to determine the intent and purpose of a statute?

Common law

Even when statutory law governs a matter, there is a significant interplay between statutory law and:

Common law.

A written opinion outlining the views of a judge or justice to make or emphasize a point that was not made or emphasized in the majority opinion.

Concurring opinion

Law that is based on the U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of the various states is:

Constitutional law.

Branch of law—founded on notions of justice and fair dealing that seeks to supply a remedy when no adequate remedy at law is available.

Courts of Equity

A court in which the only remedies that could be granted were things of value, such as money damages. In the early English king's courts, courts of law were distinct from courts of equity.

Courts of law.

Law that defines and governs actions that constitute crimes. Generally, criminal law has to do with wrongful actions committed against society for which society demands redress.

Criminal law

An informal term used to refer to all laws governing electronic communications and transactions, particularly those conducted via the Internet.

Cyberlaw

Money sought as a remedy for a breach of contract or for a tortious act.

Damages.

The party being sued is the:

Defendant

An argument raised by the defendant indicating why the plaintiff should not obtain the remedy sought.

Defense

A written opinion by a judge or justice who disagrees with the majority opinion.

Dissenting opinion

General propositions or principles of law that have to do with fairness (equity).

Equitable maxims.

An administrative agency within the executive branch of government. At the federal level, executive agencies are those within the cabinet departments.

Executive agencies.

Administrative rules and regulations adopted by federal administrative agencies are initially published in the:

Federal Register.

A school of legal thought that emphasizes the evolutionary process of law and that looks to the past to discover what the principles of contemporary law should be.

Historical school

An administrative agency that is not considered part of the government's executive branch and is not subject to the authority of the president. Independent agency officials cannot be removed without cause.

Independent regulatory agencies.

An order to a party to cease engaging in a specific activity or to undo some wrong or injury.

Injunction

What are the steps of legal reasoning?

Issue, rule, application and conclusion.

Case law is often referred to as:

Judge-made law

The science or philosophy of law.

Jurisprudence

The equitable doctrine that bars a party's right to legal action if the party has neglected for an unreasonable length of time to act on his or her rights.

Laches

A school of legal thought centered on the assumption that there is no law higher than the laws created by a national government. Laws must be obeyed, even if they are unjust, to prevent anarchy.

Legal positivism.

The idea that law is just one of many institutions in society and that it is shaped by social forces and needs.

Legal realism

The process of reasoning by which a judge harmonizes his or her decision with the judicial decisions of previous cases.

Legal reasoning

A court's written opinion, outlining the views of the majority of the judges or justices deciding the case.

Majority opinion

Positive law is also known as:

National law.

A system of moral and ethical principles that are inherent in human nature and that people can discover through the use of their natural intelligence, or reason is called:

Natural law.

A statement by the court expressing the reasons for its decision in a case.

Opinions

A law passed by a local governing unit, such as a municipality or a county:

Ordinances.

Which of these types of law may affect a single business decision?

Partnership law, fraudulent misrepresentation, intellectual property.

By the whole court; a court opinion written by the court as a whole instead of being authored by a judge or justice.

Per curiam opinion

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

Persuasive authorities

A party that initiates a lawsuit.

Petitioner

The suing party is the:

Plaintiff

A court opinion that is joined by the largest number of the judges or justices hearing the case, but less than half of the total number.

Plurality opinion

A court decision that furnishes an example or authority for deciding subsequent cases involving identical or similar facts.

Precedent

Laws that outline the methods of enforcing the rights established by substantive law are known as:

Procedural law.

A government policy based on widely held societal values and (usually) expressed or implied in laws or regulations.

Public policy

The relief given to an innocent party to enforce a right or compensate for the violation of a right.

Remedies

A remedy available in a court of law. Money damages are awarded as a remedy at law.

Remedies at law.

A remedy allowed by courts in situations where remedies at law are not appropriate. Remedies in equity are based on settled rules of fairness, justice, and honesty, and include injunction, specific performance, rescission and restitution, and reformation.

Remedies in equity

Cancellation of a contractual obligation.

Rescission

The party who answers a bill or other proceeding.

Respondent

A school of legal thought that views the law as a tool for promoting justice in society.

Sociological school

Ordering a party to perform an agreement as promised.

Specific performance.

A common law doctrine under which judges are obligated to follow the precedents established in prior decisions.

Stare decisis

A federal or state statute setting the maximum time period during which a certain action can be brought or certain rights enforced.

Statutes of limitations

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

Statutory law.

Laws that define, describe, regulate, and create legal rights and obligations are known as:

Substantive law.

Primary sources of law, or sources that establish the law, include:

The U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of the various states, statutory law, regulations created by administrative agencies, and case law and common law doctrines.

The practice of deciding new cases with reference to former decisions or precedents formed a doctrine known as:

The doctrine of stare decisis.

Case law includes the aggregate of reported cases that interpret judicial precedents, statutes, regulations, and constitutional provisions.

The rules of law announced in court decisions.

Facilitates commerce among the states by providing a uniform, yet flexible, set of rules governing commercial transactions.

Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).

A model law created by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and/or the American Law Institute for the states to consider adopting. If the state adopts the law, it becomes statutory law in that state. Each state has the option of adopting or rejecting all or part of a uniform law.

Uniform law.

Model statutes are referred to as:

Uniform laws.