Business Law Chapter 1
IRAC Method of Legal Reasoning
I: Issues (what are the key facts and ISSUES?) R: Rule (what RULES of law apply to the case?) A: Application (how do the rules of law APPLY to the particular facts and circumstances of this case?) C: Conclusion (what CONCLUSION should be drawn?)
Per Curiam
"by the court" - means a judge did not put their name on a decision
Laches
(equity will not help those who neglect their rights for an unreasonable period of time) - this can be used as a Defense - encourages people to bring a lawsuit while the evidence was fresh
Stare Decisis (again)
-Can serve as a guide -make the law more stable and PREDICTABLE
Primary Sources of Law
1. The U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of the various states 2. Statutory Law - including laws passed by Congress, state legislatures, or local governing bodies 3. Regulations created by administrative agencies 4. Case law and common law doctrines
Cases of First Impression
A case for which no Precedent exists
Legal and Equitable Remedies Today
In Medieval England courts of law and courts of equity were separate but not in the US today
Administrative Law
Consists of the rules, orders, and decisions of Administrative Agencies. 由行政机关的规则,命令和决定组成。
State Supreme Courts or United States Supreme Court
The federal government and the states both have their own supreme courts, the highest court of appeals
Appellant
The party APPEALING the court decision
Appellee
The party being APPEALED
Independent Regulatory Agencies
The president's power is less pronounced in regard to independent agencies, whose officers serve for fixed terms and cannot be removed without just cause. (Federal Trade Commission)
Precedent
a decision that furnished an example or authority for deciding subsequent cases involving identical or similar legal principles or facts (cases that set the PRECEDENT of future cases)
Administrative Agency
a federal, state, or local government agency established to perform a specific function.
Stare Decisis
a latin phrase meaning "to stand on decided cases" - decisions made by a higher court are binding on lower courts, and a court should not overturn its own precedents unless there is a compelling reason to do so
Deductive Reasoning (Syllogism)
a logical relationship involving a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion example "under the common law of torts, an individual muse be AWARE of a threat of danger for the threat to constitute assault (major), the plaintiff in this case was unaware of a threat of danger for the threat to constitute assault (minor) and therefore the circumstances so not amount to the assault"
Defense
an argument raised by the Defendant indicating why the Plaintiff should not obtain the remedy sought
Binding Authority
any source of law that a court must follow when deciding a case - include constitutions, statutes, and regulations that govern the issue being decided, as well as court precedents within the jurisdiction
United States Code (USC)
arranges all existing federal laws by broad subject (50 subjects)
Natural Law school of thought
believe that a higher or universal law exists that applies to all human beings and that written laws should imitate these inherent principles (if a written law is unjust, then it is not a true (natural) law and need not be obeyed)
Positivist school of thought
believe that there can be no higher law than a nation's positive law (legal positivism). According to this school there is no such thing a "natural rights" - human rights exist solely because of laws. Whether a law is "bad" or good" is irrelevant, the law is the law and must be obeyed until it is changed. These judges adhere to existing laws
Secondary Sources of Law
books and articles that summarize and clarify the primary sources of law (legal encyclopedias, treatises, articles in law reviews, and compilations of law such as Restatements of the Law)
Substantive Law
consists of all laws that define, describe, regulate, and create legal rights and obligations 由定义,描述,规范和创造合法权利和义务的所有法律组成
Procedural Law
consists of all laws that delineate the methods of enforcing the rights established by substantive law 由所有描述实体法规定的权利实施方法的法律组成
United States Code Annotated (USCA)
contains the official text of the USC plus notes (annotations) on court decisions that interpret and apply specific sections of the statutes
Courts of Equity
courts that seek to supply a remedy when no adequate remedy at law is available
Chancellor
most petitions were decided by a chancellor, an advisor to the king - had the power to grant new and unique remedies
Uniform Laws
or model laws, for the states to consider adopting. Each state has the option of adopting or rejecting uniform law. The state legislature can edit the uniform law to it's pleasing.
Injunction
ordering a party to cease engaging in a specific activity or to undo some wrong or injury
Specific Performance
ordering a party to perform an agreement as promised
Damages
present day "remedies", an amount given to a party whose legal interests have been injured
Dissenting Opinion
presents the views of one or more judges who disagree with the majority's decision - important because this could form the basis of the arguments used years later in overruling a decision
Cases on Point
previously decided cases that are as similar as possible to the one under consideration
Linear Reasoning
proceeds from one point to another, with the final point being the conclusion. (like a knotted rope, moving from one point to the next with a conclusion at the end)
Equitable Maximums
propositions or general statements of equitable rules - judges are guided by these
Tenth Amendment
reserves to the states all powers not granted to the federal government 美国宪法第十修正案将所有未授予联邦政府的权力保留给各州
Article VI of the constitution
says that the constitution is the "supreme law of the land"
Departures from Precedent
sometimes courts will depart from precedents for technological or social changes. These cases usually receive a lot of publicity
Civil Law
spells out the rights and duties that exist between persons and between persons and their governments, as well as the relief available when a person's rights are violated
Ordinances
statutes (laws, rules, or orders) passed by municipal or county governing units to govern matters NOT covered by federal or state law (example - city or county land use, building safety codes, and local community things)
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
the UCC facilitates COMMERCE among the states by providing a uniform, yet flexible, set of rules governing commercial transactions.
Rescission
the cancellation of a contractual obligation
Courts of Law
the courts that awarded compensation (land, items of value, or money)
Cyber Law
the emerging body of law that governs transactions conducted via the internet. Informal term
Constitutional Law
the federal government and the states have separate written constitutions that set forth the general organization, power, and limits of their respective governments
Jurisdiction
the geographic area in which a court or courts have the power to apply the law
Remedies
the legal means to enforce a right or redress a wrong
Opinions
the opinion contains the court's reasons for its decision, the rules of law that apply, and the judgement
Defendant
the party being sued
Respondent
the party being sued in EQUITY PROCEEDINGS
Legal Reasoning
the reasoning process used by judges in deciding what law applies to a given dispute and then applying that law to the specific facts or circumstances of the case
Remedies in Equity
the remedies granted by the courts became known as Remedies in Equity
Jurisprudence
the study of law
Plaintiff
the suing party
Petitioner
the suing party in EQUITY PROCEEDINGS
Remedies of Law
the three remedies (land, items of value, money)
State and Local Agencies
there are administrative agencies at the state and local levels as well - they are usually parallel to Federal Agencies. But Federal Agencies take precedence.
Executive Agencies
these agencies are subject to the authority of the president, who has the power to appoint and remove their offices (Food and Drug Administration)
National Reporter System by West Group
these reporters report cases more quickly and distribute more widely than state published reporters - many states simply let West Group do the work for them
Sociological School
this school views law as a tool for promoting justice in society. these judges are more likely to depart from past decisions because they can make "a difference" (example - judges played a key role in the civil rights movement)
Statutes of Limitations
time periods for difference types of cases are fixed by Statutes of Limitations
Reasoning by Analogy
to compare the FACTS in the case at hand to the FACTS in previous cases and, to the extent that the patterns are similar, to apply the same rule of law to the present case
Reporters
today, cases are published, or "reported" in volumes called reporters, or reports.
Concurring Opinion
when a judge wants to make an opinion that was not made or emphasized in the unanimous or majority opinion
Unanimous Opinion
when all the justices agree on an opinion
Majority Opinion
when there is no unanimous agreement - it outlines the views supported by the majority of the judges deciding the case
Trial Courts
where evidence is presented and testimony given (bottom tier)
Case Law
Judge-Made law. The doctrines and principles announced in cases - governs all areas not covered by Statutory Law or Administrative Law and is part of our Common Law Tradition. 判例法(英语:case law),就是以个案判例的形式表现出的法律规范,以遵循先例的法律原则作为其建立的基础
Statutory Law
Laws enacted by legislative bodies at any level of government, such as the statutes passed by Congress or by state legislatures, make up this body of law (laws, rules, or orders)
Persuasive Authorities
When there is no Precedent within a judges Jurisdiction, they look at Precedents from other Jurisdictions - this is referring to Persuasive Authorities
Common Law
a body of general rules that applied throughout the entire English realm
Legal Realism
based on the idea that law is just one of many institutions in society and that it is shaped by social forces and needs. Judges should take social and economic realities into account when deciding cases. Says that all judges are different and will always being different reasoning to the same case.
Criminal Law
concerned with wrongs committed against the public as a whole. Prosecuted by public officials, such as a district attorney (DA) on behalf of the state, not by their victims or other private parties.
Court of Appeals (Appellate Court)
decisions from a trial court can be appealed to these higher courts (intermediate courts)
Historical school of thought
emphasizes that evolutionary process of law by concentrating on the origin and history of the legal system. this school looks to see which laws have worked in the past - and these are the laws that should shape present laws.
Restatements of the Law (by ALI)
generally summarize the common law rules followed by most states - important to judges who make decisions
Public Policy
government policy based on widely held societal values
Citation
identifies the publication in which a legal authority - such as a statue or a court decision or other source - can be found.