Exam 1

Legal sources

1. Secondary Sources 2. Constitutions 3. Legislative Law 4. Judicial Law 5. Administrative Law slide 4

Mandatory Authority

Court decisions from a higher court in the same jurisdiction Authority that a court MUST follow On U.S. Constitutional matters only, even state courts must follow US Supreme Court ONLY Primary authority can be mandatory Secondary authority is never mandatory.

Personal jursidiction

Courts authority to resolve a dispute between persons, by location/geography

The federal court system has three main levels:

U.S. District Court U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal The U.S. Supreme Court. (Highest authority)

Subject matter jurisdiction

courts authority to resolve a dispute based on type of case General Jurisdiction: Any matter with some exceptions Limited Jurisdiction: appellate and speciality courts

Stare decisis

A legal dotorine that requires courts to follow precedent (from the same court or a higher court) when deciding cases (on the same or similar facts).

Federalism

A system of government in which a written constitution divides power between a central, or national, government and several regional governments Federal and State Dual system of courts

Precedent

An earlier case that was decided on the same or similar facts. Decisions made by judges in past cases that subsequent cases must follow.

hierarchy of authority

An organization's chain of command, specifying the relative authority of each manager. dictates who is in charge of whom within the organization 1.Constitution (Highest) 2. Enacted law 3. Case Law 4. Secondary Sources (not the law) -Federalism/separation of powers -Supremacy clause

Persuasive Authority

Any legal authority or source of law that a court may look to for guidance but need not follow when making its decision. Authority which carries some weight but is not binding or mandatory. Can be primary or secondary authority. EX: Based on opinion of sister court (primary- persuasive) OR EX: Legal scholar (secondary- persuasive) Precedent?

IRAC

Issue Rule Application Conclusion

Primary source

Primary sources of law are legislative and case law. They come from official bodies.

Secondary Source

Secondary sources of law are background resources. They explain, interpret and analyze.

Secondary Source Examples

They include encyclopedias, law reviews, treatises, restatements. Secondary sources are a good way to start research and often have citations to primary sources.

Primary Source Examples

They include: treaties, decisions of courts and tribunals, statutes, regulations.

Jurisdcition

Which court a case is tried in. The power of a court to render a binding decision. ALL jurisdiction is statutory, comes from state, and it can NOT be waived. Authority of a court to hear and decide a case Federal questions; diversity suits, Everything else (criminal, contracts, traffic, family, etc.) States