Legal Class Exam 1

In Personam Jurisdiction

"directed toward a particular person" Based upon claims against a person, in contrast to jurisdiction over the person's property. The constitution requires that the party have certain minimum contacts with the forum in which the court sits. Most states have adopted long-arm statutes. "Requires sufficient minimum contacts" to drag someone into court. Personal jurisdiction may be obtained by personally serving process upon a defendant within a state if that person is domiciled in that state.

stare decisis

"to stand by the decisions" - bossy big sister courts adhere to and rely on rules of law that they or superior courts relied on and applied in prior similar decisions. Judicial decisions thus have two uses: (1) to determine with finality the case currently being decided and (2) to indicate how the court will decide similar cases in the future

Definition of Law

A rule of civil conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a state, commanding what is right, and prohibiting what is wrong. (Blackstone)

Laws and Morals

Although moral concepts greatly influence the law, morals and law are not the same. You might think of them as two intersecting circles. Law: you must drive on the right side of the road overlapping: You shall not kill. Morals: you should not silently stand by and watch a blind man walk of a cliff.

Legislative Law - Legislators

Always forward decisions - they make the law legislation has become the primary source of new law and ordered social change in the United States. The annual volume of legislative law is enormous.

State Statutes

An act of a legislature that declares, proscribes, or commands something; a specific law, expressed in writing. A statute is a written law passed by a legislature on the state or federal level. Statutes set forth general propositions of law that courts apply to specific situations.

Rescission

An equitable action in which a party seeks to be relieved of his obligations under a contract on the grounds of mutual mistake, fraud, impossibility, etc. Rescission is the unwinding of a transaction. This is done to bring the parties, as far as possible, back to the position in which they were before they entered into a contract (the status quo ante)

Classification of Law

Because the subject is vast, classifying the law into categories is helpful. Though a number of categories are possible, the most useful ones are (1) substantive and procedural, (2) public and private, and (3) civil and criminal.

Borrowing and Coining Money

Borrowing and Coining Money - enables the federal government to establish a national banking system and to control fiscal and monetary policy.

Civil Law part of private law

Civil - defines the rights and duties, the violation of which constitutes a wrong against an individual or other legal entity.

Eminent Domain

Eminent Domain - the government's power to take private property for public use with the payment of just compensation.

Criminal Case

Government vs. private person sanctions: guilty vs not guility Fines, Prison sentence, death (life, liberty, property)

Criminal Case

Parties: Government against Defendant Purpose: Punishment & Preservation of Peace (deterrence and rehabilitation) Sanctions: Fines, Loss of Freedom or Life Burden of Proof: Beyond of reasonable doubt

Civil Case

Parties: Plaintiff & Defendant (person against person) Purpose: Compensation & Deterrence (discouraging an action) Sanctions: Monetary damages & equitable relief Burden of Proof: Preponderance of the evidence (to decide in favor of one side or the other)

Habeas Corpus

Release the body - i.e. Executive Orders by Trump will cause Habeas corpus. Habeas corpus is a writ that is used to bring a party who has been criminally convicted in state court into federal court. Usually, writs of habeas corpus are used to review the legality of the party's arrest, imprisonment, or detention.

Equal Protection

Requires that similarly situated persons be treated similarly by governmental actions. Rational Relationship Test - requires that the classification conceivably bear some rational relationship to a legitimate government interest.

Federal Preemption

Right of the federal government to regulate matters within its power to the exclusion of regulation by the states. Powerful but rare: Federal to tell State you can't. States have the power although Federal is larger. o Treaties o Airplanes o National security o Money

Right vs. Duty

Right: ability to make somebody do something for you Duty: Legal obligation for every right someone has a duty

Concurrent Federal Jurisdiction

The two types of concurrent federal jurisdiction are federal question jurisdiction and diversity jurisdiction. The first arises whenever there is a federal question over which the federal courts do not have exclusive jurisdiction. A federal question is any case arising under the Constitution, statutes, or treaties of the United States. There is no minimum dollar requirement in federal question cases. When a state court hears a concurrent federal question case, it applies federal substantive law but its own procedural rules. The second type of concurrent federal jurisdiction occurs in a civil suit in which there is diversity of citizenship and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. As the following case explains, the jurisdictional requirement is satisfied if the claim for the amount is made in good faith, unless it is clear to a legal certainty that the claim does not meet or exceed the required amount.

Equity

This new system, called equity, was administered by a court of chancery presided over by the chancellor. The chancellor, deciding cases on "equity and good conscience," regularly provided relief where common law judges had refused to act or where the remedy at law was inadequate. Thus, there grew up, side by side, two systems of law administered by different tribunals, the common law courts and the courts of equity.

State Law

can be as high as constitutional law (equal) but never higher

common law system

relies heavily on the judiciary as a source of law and on the adversary system for settling disputes.

Executive Orders

the President of the United States also has authority to issue laws, which are called executive orders. This authority typically derives from specific delegation by federal legislation. An executive order may amend, revoke, or supersede a prior executive order.

Procedural laws for police to do the right thing

the balance of our constitutional rights for the government to do the right things vs. a criminal going free because government made mistake

Constitutional Law

the fundamental law and no other law can violate the constitutional law.

Adversary system

the parties, not the court, must initiate and conduct litigation.

Due Process

- What process I am entitled to? What procedures am I entitled to in this situation? Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments - prohibit the federal and state governments from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Substantive Due Process - requires governmental action to be compatible with individual liberties. Procedural Due Process - requires the governmental decision-making process to be fair and impartial if it deprives a person of life, liberty, or property. -- Notice to be heard -- Opportunity to be heard

treaties

A treaty is an agreement between or among independent nations. The U.S. Constitution authorizes the President to enter into treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate, "providing two thirds of the Senators present concur."

Actus Reus

Actus reus refers to all the nonmental elements of a crime, including the physical act that must be performed, the circumstances under which it must be performed, and the consequences of that act.

Administrative Law

Administrative law is the branch of public law that is created by administrative agencies in the form of rules, regulations, orders, and decisions to carry out the regulatory powers and duties of those agencies. It also deals with controversies arising among individuals and these public officials and agencies. Administrative functions and activities concern general matters of public health, safety, and welfare, including the establishment and maintenance of military forces, police, citizenship and naturalization, taxation, environmental protection, and the regulation of transportation, interstate highways, waterways, television, radio, and trade and commerce.

Maxims

Although courts of equity provided remedies not available in courts of law, they granted such remedies only at their discretion, not as a matter of right. This discretion was exercised according to the general legal principles, or maxims, formulated by equity courts over the years.

Crime

Any act or omission forbidden by public law. Essential elements: (1) Actus Reus: the wrongful or overt act (2) Mens rea: the criminal intent or mental fault Presumption: innocent guilty until proven guilty For example, to support a larceny conviction, it is not enough to show that the defendant stole another's goods; it also must be established that he intended to steal the goods. Conversely, criminal intent without an overt act is not a crime. For instance, Ann decides to rob the neighborhood grocery store and then really "live it up." Without more than the thought, Ann has committed no crime.

Contract Clause

Article I, Section 10, of the Constitution provides: "No State shall ... pass any ... Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts." The U.S. Supreme Court has used the Contract Clause to restrict states from retroactively modifying public charters and private contracts. However, the Court, holding that the Contract Clause does not preclude the states from exercising eminent domain or their police powers, has ruled: "No legislature can bargain away the public health or the public morals." Although the Contract Clause does not apply to the federal government, due process limits the federal government's power to impair contracts.

Functions of Law

At a general level the primary function of law is to maintain stability in the social, political, and economic system while simultaneously permitting change.

Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Authority of a court to judge a controversy of a particular kind of case. federal Courts have limited subject matter jurisdiction. State Courts have jurisdiction over all matter that the Constitutions or the Congress neither denies them nor gives exclusively to the federal court. Exclusive State Jurisdiction - jurisdiction over all other (non-federal) matters.

Computer Crime

Computer crime, or cybercrime, is best categorized based on whether the computer was the instrument or the target of the crime. Examples of cybercrimes using computers as the instrument of the crime include the distribution of child pornography; money laundering; illegal gambling; copyright infringement; illegal communication of trade secrets; and fraud involving credit cards, e-commerce, and securities. Cybercrime with a computer as a target of the crime attacks a computer's confidentiality, integrity, or availability; examples include theft or destruction of proprietary information, vandalism, denial of service, website defacing and interference, and implantation of malicious code.

Circuit Courts of Appeal

Congress has established twelve judicial circuits (eleven numbered circuits plus the D.C. circuit), each having a court known as the Court of Appeals, which primarily hears appeals from the district courts located within its circuit (see Figure 3-2). In addition, these courts review decisions of many administrative agencies, the Tax Court, and the Bankruptcy Courts. Congress has also established the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which is discussed later in the section on "Special Courts."

Freedom of Speech

Corporate Political Speech First Amendment protects a corporation's right to speak out on political issues. Commercial Speech - expression related to the economic interests of the speaker and its audience; receives a lesser degree of protection. Defamation - civil wrong or tort that diminishes a person's reputation by publishing a false statement; receives limited constitutional protection.

Vicarious liability - Corporate criminal liability

Corporate criminal liability - is liability imposed upon one person for the acts of another. Employers are vicariously liable for the authorized criminal acts of their employees if the employer directed, participated in, or approved of the act. For example, if an employer directs its vice president of marketing to fix prices with its company's competitors, and the employee does so, both the employer and employee have criminally violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.

liability without fault

Crime to do a specific act or cause a certain result without regard to the care exercised. Without regard to the care that a person exercises, criminal liability without fault makes it a crime for that person to do a specified act or to bring about a certain result. sale of adulterated food, the sale of narcotics without a prescription, and the sale of alcoholic beverages to a minor - fines for violation.

Criminal Law part of public law

Criminal - law establishing duties which, if violated, constitute a wrong against the entire community.

Civil Case Parties: Plaintiff vs. Defendant Purpose: Compensation and Deterrence Sanctions: damages and equitable relief Burdon of proof: preponderance of evidence

Criminal Case Parties: Government vs defendant (4th, 5th and 6th constitutional right) Purpose: Punishment and preservation of peace (deterrence and rehabilitation) Sanctions: Fines, loss of freedom or life Burden of Proof: beyond reasonable doubt

Common Law

Decided by judges (looks back at other cases) courts in common law systems have developed a body of law that serves as precedent for determining later controversies. In this sense, common law, also called case law or judge-made law, is distinguished from other sources of law, such as legislation and administrative rulings.

Burden of Proof

Define burden of proof: the duty of proving a disputed assertion or charge. Beyond reasonable doubt: The standard that must be met by the prosecution's evidence in a criminal prosecution: that no other logical explanation can be derived from the facts except that the defendant committed the crime, thereby overcoming the presumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty

Reformation

Equitable remedy used to reframe written contracts to reflect accurately real agreement between contracting parties when, either through mutual mistake or unilateral mistake coupled with actual or equitable fraud by the other party, the writing does not embody the contract as actually made. The correction or change of an existing document by court order upon petition of one of the parties to the document. Reformation will be ordered if there is proof that the parties did not intend the language as written or there was an omission due to mistake or misunderstanding.

Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction

Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction The federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over federal criminal prosecutions; admiralty, bankruptcy, antitrust, patent, trademark, and copyright cases; suits against the United States; and cases arising under certain federal statutes that expressly provide for exclusive federal jurisdiction.

Federal Supremacy

Federal Supremacy - federal law takes precedence over conflicting state law. the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution provides that, within its own sphere, federal law is supreme and that state law must, in case of conflict, yield. Accordingly, any state constitutional provision or law that conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or valid federal laws or treaties is unconstitutional and may not be given effect.

Federal Court Jurisdiction

Federal crimes Bankruptcy Patents Copyright and trademarks Admiralty Antitrust Suits against the US Specified federal statues

Federalism

Federalism - the division of governing power between the federal government and the states. We want the State to have their own voice.

Adjudication Dispute

Formal methods by which an agency resolves disputes. The formal procedure by which an agency resolves a matter (called adjudication) involves finding facts, applying legal rules to the facts, and formulating orders. An order "means the whole or a part of a final disposition, whether affirmative, negative, injunctive or declaratory in form, of an agency." Adjudication, which in essence is an administrative trial, is used when the enabling statute so requires

First Amendment

Free Speech - is not absolute. Some forms of speech (e.g., obscenity) are not protected. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Civil Dispute Resolution - Arbitration

In arbitration, the parties select a neutral third person or persons—the arbitrator(s)—who render(s) a binding decision after hearing arguments and reviewing evidence. Because the presentation of the case is less formal and the rules of evidence are more relaxed, arbitration usually takes less time and costs less than litigation. Arbitration agreement i.e. Amazon (go to panel to decide). A nonjudicial proceeding in which a neutral party selected by the disputants renders a binding decision (award). Types of Arbitration: Consensual Arbitration Compulsory Arbitration Mediation - 3rd party - is binding if come to an agreement. Nonbinding in which a third party acts as an intermediary between the disputing parties and proposes solutions for them to consider. Med-arbitration Binding process in which a third party serves first as a mediator and then as an arbitrator for those issues not resolved through mediation.

Mediation

Mediationar is a process in which a third party (the mediator) selected by the disputants helps them to reach a voluntary agreement resolving their disagreement. In addition to employing conciliation techniques to improve communications, the mediator, unlike the conciliator, proposes possible solutions for the parties to consider. Like the conciliator, the mediator does not have the power to render a binding decision. Because it is a voluntary process and has lower costs than a formal legal proceeding or arbitration, mediation has become one of the most widespread forms of dispute resolution in the United States.

State Court

Inferior Trial Courts - hear minor criminal cases, such as traffic offenses, and civil cases involving small amounts of money; conduct preliminary hearings in more serious criminal cases. Trial Courts - have general jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases. Appellate Courts - include one or two levels; the highest court's decisions are final except in those cases reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court. NJ Superior Courts, NJ Court of Appeals, NJ Supreme Court.

Judicial Review

Judicial review describes the process by which the courts examine government actions to determine whether they conform to the U.S. Constitution. If government action violates the U.S. Constitution, under judicial review the courts will invalidate that action. Judicial review extends to legislation, acts of the executive branch, and the decisions of inferior courts; such review scrutinizes actions of both the federal and state governments and applies to both the same standards of constitutionality. The U.S. Supreme Court is the final authority as to the constitutionality of any federal and state law.

mens rea

Mens rea, or mental fault, refers to the mental element of a crime. Most common law and some statutory crimes require subjective fault, whereas other crimes require objective fault; some statutory crimes require no fault at all.

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the power or authority of a court to hear and decide a given case. To resolve a lawsuit, a court must have two kinds of jurisdiction. The first is jurisdiction over the subject matter of the lawsuit. If a courts lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter of a case, no action it takes in the case will have legal effect. The second kind of jurisdiction is over the parties to a lawsuit. This jurisdiction is required for the court to render an enforceable judgement that affects the parties rights and duties. A court usually may obtain jurisdiction over the defendant in a lawsuit if (1) the defendant lives and is present in the courts' territory or (2) the transaction given rise to the case has a substantial connection tot he courts' territory. The court obtains jurisdiction over the plaintiff when the plaintiff voluntarily submits to the courts' power by filing a complaint with the court.

Embezzlement

Larceny & Breach of trust. Embezzlement is the fraudulent conversion of another's property by one who was in lawful possession of it. A conversion is any act that seriously interferes with the owner's rights in the property; such acts may include exhausting the resources of the property, selling it, giving it away, or refusing to return it to its rightful owner. The key distinction between larceny and embezzlement, therefore, is whether the thief is in lawful possession of the property. Although both situations concern misuse of the property of another, in embezzlement, the thief lawfully possesses the property; in larceny, she does not.

False Pretenses

Larceny & Trickery False pretenses is the crime of obtaining title to property of another by making materially false representations of an existing fact with knowledge of their falsity and with the intent to defraud. Larceny does not cover this situation because here the victim voluntarily transfers the property to the thief. For example, a con artist who goes door to door and collects money by saying he is selling stereo equipment, when he is not, is committing the crime of false pretenses.

Federal Court

Law = US Supreme Court in Washington DC Law = Circuit Court of Appeals (Philly) Facts = District Court - Trail Court District Courts - trial courts of general jurisdiction that can hear and decide most legal controversies in the federal system. Courts of Appeals - hear appeals from district courts and review orders of certain administrative agencies.

Law and Justice

Law and justice represent separate and distinct concepts. Without law, however, there can be no justice. Although defining justice is at least as difficult as defining law, justice generally may be defined as the fair, equitable, and impartial treatment of the competing interests and desires of individuals and groups with due regard for the common good.

Least Restrictive Means

Least Restrictive Means Test. The "least restrictive means," or "less drastic means," test is a standard imposed by the courts when considering the validity of legislation that touches upon constitutional interests.

Legislative rules

Legislators make law - write statutes. Legislative rules, often called regulations, are in effect "administrative statutes." Legislative rules are those issued by an agency having the ability, under a legislative delegation of power, to make rules having the force and effect of law. Interpretative Rules - statements issued by an administrative agency indicating how it construes the statutes and rules that it administers. Procedural Rules - rules issued by an administrative agency establishing its organization, method of operation, and rules of conduct. Makes rules, Publishes rules --> provides notice --> provides opportunity to be heard

Long arm statutes

Most states have adopted long-arm statues to expand their jurisdictional reach beyond those persons who may be personally served within the state. The statues allow courts to obtain jurisdiction over nonresident defendants under the following conditions: (1) has committed a tort (civil wrong) (2) owns a property within the state and that property is the subject matter of the lawsuit (3) has entered into a contract within the state or (4) has transacted business within the state and that business is the subject matter of the lawsuit.

Negotiation

Negotiation is a consensual bargaining process in which the parties attempt to reach an agreement resolving their dispute. Negotiation differs from other methods of alternate dispute resolution in that no third parties are involved.

Conciliation

Nonbinding process in which a third party acts as an intermediary between the disputing parties.

Federal Commerce Power

Not restricting commerce. Civil cases were initially won because of commerce power. The U.S. Constitution provides that Congress has the power to regulate commerce with other nations and among the states. This Commerce Clause has two important effects: (1) it provides a broad source of commerce power for the federal government to regulate the economy, and (2) it restricts state regulations that obstruct or unduly burden interstate commerce.

Administrative Agencies

Operation of Administrative Agencies: same functions as 3 branches of government, but all in one agency. Rule making process: similar to Legislative branch Enforcement process: similar to the Executive branch Adjudication process: similar to Judicial branch

RICO - Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act

Organized crime (business crime that is organized) Commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.

Enforcement

President enforces the law. Process by which agencies determine whether their rules have been violated. Agencies also investigate conduct to determine whether the enabling statute or the agency's legislative rules have been violated. In carrying out this executive function, the agencies traditionally have been accorded great discretion, subject to constitutional limitations, to compel the disclosure of information. These limitations require that (1) the investigation is authorized by law and undertaken for a legitimate purpose, (2) the information sought is relevant, (3) the demand for information is sufficiently specific and not unreasonably burdensome, and (4) the information sought is not privileged.

Private Law / Procedural Law

Private - substantive law governing the relationships among individuals and legal entities. Procedural Law - rules for enforcing substantive law.

Procedural Law

Process of dealing with government rules for enforcing substantive law Litigators have to know the rules to win trail (big red book - how law is enforced)

State Law / Public Law

Public - substantive law dealing with the relationship between government and individuals. i.e. speeding ticket Law creating rights and Duties.

The rule of law

Rule of law is a system in which the following four universal principles are upheld: The government and its officials and agents as well as individuals and private entities are accountable under the law

Special Courts

Special Courts - have jurisdiction over cases in a particular area of federal law. Includes the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Limitations of Government

Standard of Scrutiny: U.S. Supreme Court uses different standards of scrutiny for determining whether laws are constitutional; these standards differ depending on the interests affected and the nature of the government action. Strict Scrutiny: o Fundamental Rights - traits I was born with (language, Religion, handicap). An immutable characteristic is any sort of physical attribute which is perceived as being unchangeable, entrenched and innate. ... For example, a legal debate about sexual orientation concerns whether it is a mutable or immutable characteristic.

State Action

State Action - actions of governments to which constitutional provisions apply.

Injunction

Stop someone - i.e. stop the vessel from sailing. An equitable remedy forbidding the party defendant from doing some act which he is threatening or attempting to commit, or restraining him in the continuance thereof, such act being unjust and inequitable, injurious to the plaintiff, and not such as can be adequately redressed by an action at law.

Substantive and Procedural Law

Substantive - law creating rights and duties. Substantive law defines how the facts in the case will be handled, as well as how the crime is to be charged. Procedural - rules for enforcing substantive law. Procedural law provides the process that a case will go through (whether it goes to trial or not). The procedural law determines how a proceeding concerning the enforcement of substantive law will occur.

Substantive Law: Public Law

Substantive law dealing with the relationship between government and individuals. Constitutional Law Criminal Law Administrative Law

Federal Court System

Supreme Court (legal arguments - 3 judges) Appellate Court (loser can appeal) Trail Court (parties dispute win/loss) State Court (1 Judge)

Federal Fiscal Powers - Taxation and Spending

Taxation and Spending - the Constitution grants Congress broad powers to tax and spend; such powers are important to federal regulation of the economy.

White-collar crime *

The Justice Department defines it as nonviolent crime involving deceit, corruption, or breach of trust. It includes crimes committed by individuals—such as embezzlement and forgery—as well as crimes committed on behalf of a corporation—such as commercial bribery, product safety and health crimes, false advertising, and antitrust violations.

Federal Courts continued

The Supreme Court - nation's highest court, whose principal function is to review decisions of the Federal Courts of Appeals and the highest State courts.

Separation of Power

The U.S. Constitution vests power in three distinct and independent branches of government—the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The purpose of the doctrine of separation of powers is to prevent any branch of government from gaining too much power. The doctrine also permits each branch to function without interference from any other branch. Basically, the legislative branch is granted the power to make the law, the executive branch to enforce the law, and the judicial branch to interpret the law.

State Regulations of Commerce

The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately decides the extent to which state regulation may affect interstate commerce. In doing so, the Court weighs and balances several factors: (1) the necessity and importance of the state regulation, (2) the burden it imposes on interstate commerce, and (3) the extent to which it discriminates against interstate commerce in favor of local concerns.

Judicial Law

The U.S. legal system, a common law system like the system first developed in England, relies heavily on the judiciary as a source of law and on the adversary system for settling disputes.

Larceny *

The crime of larceny is the: (1) trespassory (2) taking and (3) carrying away of (or exercising dominion or control over) (4) personal property (5) of another (6) with the intent to deprive the victim permanently of the goods. All six elements must be present for the crime to exist. Thus, if Carol takes Dan's 1968 automobile without Dan's permission, intending to use it for a joyride and then return it to Dan, Carol has not committed larceny because she did not intend to deprive Dan permanently of the automobile.

District Courts

The district courts are general trial courts in the federal system. Most federal cases begin in the district court, and it is here that issues of fact are decided. The district court is generally presided over by one judge, although in certain cases three judges preside. In a few cases, an appeal from a judgment or decree of a district court is taken directly to the Supreme Court. In most cases, however, appeals go to the Circuit Court of Appeals of the appropriate circuit, the decision of which is final in most cases. All states have at least one district; about half of the states contain more than one district. For instance, California and New York each have four districts

Federal Fiscal Power

The federal government exerts a dominating influence over the national economy through its control of financial matters. Much of this impact results from the exercise of its regulatory powers under the Commerce Clause, as previously discussed. In addition, the government derives a substantial portion of its influence from powers that are independent of the Commerce Clause. These include (1) the power to tax, (2) the power to spend, (3) the power to borrow and coin money, and (4) the power of eminent domain.

Appellate Court

The function of appellate courts is to examine the record of a case on appeal and to determine whether the trial court committed prejudicial error (error substantially affecting the appellant's rights and duties). If so, the appellate court will reverse or modify the judgment of the lower court and, if necessary, remand or send it back to the lower court for further proceeding. If there is no prejudicial error, the appellate court will affirm the decision of the lower court.

Supreme Court

The nation's highest tribunal is the U.S. Supreme Court, which consists of nine justices (a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices) who sit as a group in Washington, D.C. A quorum consists of any six justices. In certain types of cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has original jurisdiction (the right to hear a case first). The Court's principal function, nonetheless, is to review decisions of the Federal Courts of Appeals and, in some instances, decisions involving federal law resolved by the highest state courts.

Functions of Law

To maintain stability in the social, political, and economic system through dispute resolution, protection of property, and the preservation of the state, while simultaneously permitting ordered change.

Civil and Criminal Law

To sue - to begin a lawsuit in a court. Defendant - the person against whom a legal action is brought. Plaintiff - the person who initiates a civil suit. Prosecute - to bring a criminal proceeding.

Substantive Law: Private Law

Torts Contracts Sales Commercial Paper Agency Partnerships Corporations Property

Venue

Venue, which is often confused with jurisdiction, concerns the topographic area in which a lawsuit should be brought. The purpose of venue is to regulate the distribution of cases within a specific court system and to identify a convenient forum.

Equitable Relief

When a court awards a non-monetary judgment, such as an order to do something (mandamus or specific performance) or refrain from doing something (injunction), when monetary damages are not sufficient to repair the injury i.e. specific performance Money can't fix the damage

Diversity of citizenship

exist when (1) the plaintiffs are citizens from different states or (2) when a foreign country brings a action against citizens of the US or (3) when the controversy is between citizens of a stare and citizens of a foreign country.

Monetary damages in civil case

i.e. breach of contract - pay a fair amount for reimbursement