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.