CH. 1 Legal Frameworks Midterm Review

Which of the following is a true statement of the powers of a branch of the federal government?

The power to enact laws is vested in the legislative branch.

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

Unites states reports

Savannah enters into a contract with Brylan to purchase Brylan's beachfront home in Key West. Savannah sells her own home and moves into a short-term rental property in preparation for relocating to her new home. Three days before the closing is to occur, Brylan informs Savannah that he is no longer willing to sell his beachfront home. Savannah sues Brylan for breaching the contract. In her complaint, Savannah asks that the court require Brylan to honor the contract and continue with the sale of the home. If Savannah prevails in court, the judge will likely:

award specific performance

Legal researchers will use which of the following tools to locate a court decision? Choose 2 answers.

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

What do legal professionals use to analyze court decisions that are relevant to their clients' cases?

case briefing

In the United States, who creates federal statutory law?

congress

Business law is a vast body of state and federal law governing business activities that includes statutes (codes), common law, court cases, and: Choose 2 answers.

constitutions. regulations

State statutory law is created by:

elected members of the state legislature.

Which branch of government creates statutory law?

legislative

Which branch of government has the authority to enact law?

legislative

While Rosemary is driving through an intersection, Jeffrey runs a red light and their cars collide. Rosemary then sues Jeffrey for her injuries and pain and suffering, alleging that he was negligent. During the trial, Jeffrey's attorney presents evidence that Rosemary was also negligent because she was speeding. Jeffrey's attorney submits to the court a decision of the supreme court of the state which describes the theory of contributory negligence. Under contributory negligence, if the plaintiff was also negligent, the plaintiff recovers nothing from the defendant. Rosemary's attorney argues it is time to change the law and presents evidence to the court that 32 states have already changed their law from contributory negligence to comparative negligence, because contributory negligence produces unfair results. Under the theory of comparative negligence, a jury compares the negligence of the plaintiff and the negligence of the defendant. Under comparative negligence, Rosemary would be unable to recover all of her damages, but she would be able to recover the amount for which the defendant was held responsible. When deciding whether to follow existing precedent or ignore that precedent, the court:

may ignore precedent and change the law if there is a good reason to do so

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

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

Angelina's neighbor Andrew tore down a fence that separated Angelina's property from Andrew's property. Angelina was outraged because she believed the fence was a part of her property and Andrew had no right to tear it down. Angelina sued Andrew, and after several months, they went to trial. In deciding the case, the court relied on the decision made in a previous case from the same jurisdiction that had similar facts and similar issues. The previous case the court relied on is referred to as:

precedent

How a hearing or court case is conducted is governed by:

procedural law

Substantive law governs a person's:

rights and responsibilities

Joan's lawyer, Albert, feels pretty good about the chances of winning Joan's case. He has found a case directly on point, which means it has the same issue and very similar facts. If the court follows the decision in the case Albert found, then Joan will win her case. Albert argues Joan's case to the trial court, and the trial court decides for Joan. The fact that the trial court decided the case in Joan's favor is an example of:

stare decisis

Elton is a state representative for the North Dakota legislature. Recently, Elton and his colleagues in the legislature proposed a law that would increase the penalty drivers would have to pay if they pass a stopped school bus. The type of law that Elton and his colleagues will enact is known as:

statutory law

Melinda is a resident of the city of Newtown. The Newtown City Council recently passed an ordinance prohibiting Newtown property owners from selling or renting homes to same-sex married couples. Ginger and Lola, a same-sex married couple, approach Melinda about renting a home from her. Melinda is sympathetic to the couple, but she tells them she cannot rent her property to them because of the city ordinance. Ginger and Lola file a court action claiming the city ordinance is unconstitutional. When the court hears their case:

the court will likely throw out the ordinance because it is unconstitutional.

While Reginald was vacationing in Florida, he visited an exotic pet shop and decided to purchase a baby alligator. When Reginald returned to his home state of New Jersey, he built an appropriate enclosure for his alligator that would allow for its growth. Reginald also made sure to post warning signs and install sufficient locks on all his gates to ensure that the public could not wander into his yard and be harmed by the alligator. What Reginald failed to do, however, was to research the law in New Jersey regarding exotic pets such as pet alligators. Two months after Reginald returned home with the alligator, a sheriff's deputy knocked on his door to issue a citation to Reginald for violating a state statute that makes it illegal to keep alligators as pets. The deputy confiscated the alligator and fined Reginald $500. If Reginald decides to challenge the constitutionality of the statute on which the citation was issued, Reginald would do so through:

the judicial branch of state government

Zayden was recently arrested for driving while intoxicated. The law in his state defines the crime of driving while intoxicated as operating a motor vehicle on the public roads with a blood alcohol content over 0.8%. State law also states that anyone convicted of this crime has the right to appeal. Zayden recently took a criminal justice course in college and remembers studying the differences between substantive and procedural law. In his current situation, he knows that:

the law that defines the crime is a substantive law, and the law that provides for the right to appeal is a procedural law

While Reginald was vacationing in Florida, he visited an exotic pet shop and decided to purchase a baby alligator. When Reginald returned to his home state of New Jersey, he built an appropriate enclosure for his alligator that would allow for its growth. Reginald also made sure to post warning signs and install sufficient locks on all his gates to ensure that the public could not wander into his yard and be harmed by the alligator. What Reginald failed to do, however, was to research the law in New Jersey regarding exotic pets such as pet alligators. Two months after Reginald returned home with the alligator, a sheriff's deputy knocked on his door to issue a citation to Reginald for violating a state statute that makes it illegal to keep alligators as pets. The deputy confiscated the alligator and fined Reginald $500. The state statute that Reginald violated was created by:

the state legislature

Which of the following statements are applicable to the doctrine of stare decisis? Choose 2 answers.

A lower court must follow the precedent of a decision made by a higher court in the same jurisdiction. Stare decisis is a principle that arose out of the common law.

Which of the following citations indicates that the citation is referencing state statutory law? Choose 2 answers.

Ark. Code Ann. § 6-17-2401 (2020) Cal. Penal Code § 11164(a) (West 2020)

Megan Kanka was raped and murdered in 1994, when she was only seven years old, by one of her neighbors. As a result of her murder, a federal statute was created that requires law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders. This federal statute was created by:

Congress

Which of the following is an example of federal agency regulations that impact business operations?

Internal Revenue Service rules for business tax audits